


Two Crushes, One Boy

by TrisPrior



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Barista Iwaizumi, Fluff, Implied Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Kuroo is a playa, M/M, Oikawa is a hopeless romantic, Online Friendship, Online Romance, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-25
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-10-10 16:47:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10442502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrisPrior/pseuds/TrisPrior
Summary: Oikawa is a College student at Tokyo University. And despite still being the heartthrob of many young women, he is looking for something different. Maybe that incredibly buff guy that’s in just one of his classes. Or that mysterious guy he’s been chatting with online who apparently just so happens to live around Tokyo, too.He finds himself with the decision of which one he’s going to ask out. Is the chosen one going to accept his feelings? And what is Oikawa going to do about the feelings he has for his other crush?





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my native language. This is the first fanfic I’m writing in English. Tips and constructive criticism are welcome!

 

[15:33] _volleyboy97: ugh my prof was so annoying today_

[15:34] _bubblegumhair: yeah? what happened?_

[15:34] _volleyboy97: he spent like 10 mins on a question that one guy asked without actually answering it when our lesson had ended like 5 mins ago already!_

[15:35] _bubblegumhair: ouch. sorry about that._

[15:35] _volleyboy97: thanks, I got myself some ice cream after cuz I feel I deserved it._

[15:35] _bubblegumhair: hah, you certainly deserve your ice cream after a day like that._

 

“Are you still talking to that guy?” Oikawa looked up from where he was currently lounging on his bed, laptop leaning against his propped-up legs and a juice box in his hand. He sucked on the straw once more, then set the box aside to type a quick response in the open chat box on his screen.

 

[15:36] _volleyboy97: brb my roommate wants to talk ew_

[15:37] _bubblegumhair: haha! don’t worry about it. I gotta go to work soon anyway. talk soon_

[15:37] _bubblegumhair has logged off._

Oikawa whined. “See, now you’ve made him disappear!” He stretched out his legs and turned the laptop so that the dark-haired boy could lean down and read the last message on the screen that stated his conversational partner had left the chat room. Kuroo laughed. “That’s hardly my fault.” He squinted at the screen again, then turned his head to look at his roommate with one eyebrow raised. “Also. Bubblegumhair? _Really?_ ”

Oikawa stuck his tongue out and turned the laptop back around to log out of his own chat and return to the paper he had initially meant to write until ‘bubblegumhair’ had logged on. “It’s because his sister put bubblegum in his hair the day he signed up,” he informed his roommate even though Kuroo was already much more interested in whatever text he’d just received.

“Oh? Okay then,” he nodded with just a short glance towards the brunette before he sat down on his own bed and typed away with both thumbs, a small smirk on his face. Oikawa just watched him for a couple of moments, then closed his laptop and set it aside in order to turn on his side and gaze at his friend.

 “Who is it?”

 Kuroo looked up, the smirk just widening a little bit. “The cute one from the coffee shop I went to yesterday.” He looked back down at his phone and scooted back until he was leaning against the wall behind his bed. All the while his thumbs kept swiftly tapping away on his phone. “I’m meeting her for coffee later after her shift. You wanna come with? Might meet someone new.”

The singsong tone in Kuroo’s voice made Oikawa snicker, but he merely turned to lie on his back with his arms crossed behind his head. “I don’t know…I’ve got enough going on as it is.” His gaze guiltily flew over to where his laptop was resting, abandoned and waiting for the brunette to get back to his paper. Kuroo rolled his eyes and put his phone away.

“C’mon, Oikawa. You’ve still got days to finish this paper and no classes tomorrow.” A dramatic pause followed as Kuroo glanced back at his phone just to check if his newfound prey had replied. “Besides. You need to get laid. Bad. And I mean _bad_.”

“Ok, you need to stop!” Oikawa insisted while Kuroo burst into laughter. He seemed to be mostly teasing but there was some truth in his words. Ever since Oikawa had found interest in guys, he hadn’t bothered going out with any of the girls that showed interest. Which had been just before he started College quite a few months ago. And Oikawa couldn’t even deny that Kuroo was right, because he was.

However it wasn’t even just the physical aspects of a relationship that he missed. He wanted someone to talk to, someone who was there for him, someone who wouldn’t mind that clinginess of his that had ruined more than one of his past relationships. Getting laid would at least soothe his body’s want for another person for some time, but he wanted more. 

“Fine, I’ll come with you.”

“Great.” Kuroo grinned as he got up and walked over to the makeshift wardrobe at the end of his bed. “You better put on something else. You’re not scoring anyone wearing sweatpants and with your hair unkempt like that.”

“Says Mr. Bedhead,” Oikawa muttered with a pout, but still got up while Kuroo just laughed again. He was right, though. Even though he had a pretty face, Oikawa knew he still had at least a little bit of preparing to do before he could confidently talk to anyone. After a quick stretch and emptying his juice box, he followed Kuroo’s example and got ready.

 

“I can’t believe you dragged me _here_.” Oikawa was pouting over his – admittedly delicious – cup of coffee, holding it in both hands to keep warm. He had his legs crossed over each other and was glancing around the room. “There is literally nobody interesting here. 

“We’ve been here for two minutes, Oikawa,” Kuroo said with an obviously annoyed roll of his eyes. “Give it some time. I’m sure you’ll find at least someone interesting.”

Oikawa doubted it. There were exactly two people he was interested in at the moment, and Kuroo knew it. That was already one more than was the case for him normally. Because normally he had his eyes set on one person, and one person only. He’d dated several girls all throughout High School, but only ever one at a time. And now he wanted to go out with two guys at once, neither of which he knew.

“Stop pouting. You never know who you’re gonna meet. Maybe the love of your life is about to walk through that door,” Kuroo said, pointing at the door the two of them had entered through just minutes ago. Despite himself, Oikawa found himself turning around, looking at the door. Nothing happened. With another sigh he turned around and looked at Kuroo.

“Where’s your girlfriend anyway?”

Kuroo snorted and shook his head as he put some more sugar into his own coffee. “Oh, no. No, she’s not my girlfriend. You know I don’t do girlfriends.” Oikawa smiled.

“I know. You could use some stability in your life too, though,” he hummed, just as a cute girl with shoulder-length bouncy hair walked towards their table. She was holding her bag in both hands and looked rather shy as offered a bow in greeting. “Kuroo-san! Hello…I’m sorry, my shift only just ended.” Kuroo looked up with a wide – and somewhat too sweet – smile.

“Oh, hey, Hayato-chan! This is my friend, Oikawa. Oikawa…Hayato.” Oikawa smiled charmingly and held up his hand in a wave along with his signature ‘yo-ho!’. It did its trick – the girl blushed, and was seemingly confused by having not just one but two charming boys smiling up at her. Thankfully Kuroo took the lead and got up after he’d emptied his coffee.

“I’ll see you later at the dorm, yeah?” The brunette nodded, and rolled his eyes when he saw the wink and smirk his best friend offered in a goodbye. Yeah, he probably wouldn’t see him again until late that evening. That was, if Kuroo got his way. Which he did a good 80 percent of the time.

Once he was sure the both of them were out of earshot, Oikawa let out a deep sigh and pouted. Now here he was, all alone at an unfamiliar coffee shop, with his cutest outfit and his hair nicely done, without anyone to appreciate it (okay, maybe that part wasn’t true – he’d turned at least a couple of heads the minute he’d walked in).

As he let his gaze slowly check out the shop again he noted at least three girls (and even one guy) who hurriedly turned away as soon as he met their eyes, but none of them caught his interest. Was it because he had already seen perfection? His mind wandered to the guy in his lecture that morning.

Oikawa had made it a habit of sitting just two rows behind him, a bit to the side so he could study his profile. The brunette didn’t even know his name…but he was sure it would be just as gorgeous as his face. He had an angular jaw and hair that seemed unable to tame (or maybe he just didn’t bother). Whenever he wore short sleeves Oikawa would get a good view on his bulging biceps…

The sound of smashing glass shocked Oikawa back into reality. When he looked up, he could see a young waitress scrambling to pick up the shards of a glass that must have fallen off his tray. Oikawa could hear her panicked voice. It sounded as if she was close to tears.

“Sorry! I’m so sorry, I’ll clean this up right away…ouch!” She pulled back her hand as she had seemingly cut herself on one of the shards.

“Here. I’ll help you.”

Oikawa’s breath hitched in his throat. He didn’t recognize the low voice, but as one of the other waiters hurried around the counter with a broom to sweep up the shards, he definitely recognized the dark and messy hair. And those shoulders that were too big for that stupidly tight shirt with a too small apron thrown over it.

“Th-thank you, Iwaizumi-san!”

Iwaizumi-san. The brunette watched closely as his fellow student, Iwaizumi-san, smiled at the girl who hurried to get her cut taken care of while her co-worker swept up the glass. He then proceeded to promise the people at the table he’d bring them a coffee on the house for the inconvenience. God, he wasn’t just hot, he was charming too!

For the next minute Oikawa wasn’t able to move. He merely watched as Iwaizumi – the name still lingered on his mind as he repeated it internally over and over – brought two coffees for the couple at the table just on the other side of the café and then returned behind the counter.

This was his chance, his moment. To introduce himself, as if he’d just seen him by chance - which wasn’t even a lie since Kuroo was the reason he had come here to begin with. And maybe, maybe the coffee here was so good that he just needed a second cup, yes. 

With newfound confidence brimming in his chest, Oikawa finished his – by now lukewarm – cup of coffee and got up to walk towards the counter where Iwaizumi was making coffee after coffee that were taken to the customers by the girl who had cut herself before. With a charming smile, the brunette leaned one elbow on the counter, waiting for Iwazumi to see him. Which was only a few seconds later.

“Hi, how can I help you?” he asked, a friendly smile on his face that Oikawa mirrored on his own face.

“Hey! I was just wondering if I could get another Mocha. They’re delicious.” He pushed the cup over the counter and Iwaizumi received it with a short nod and started preparing it immediately. As he worked, Oikawa let his gaze travel over the other’s body – at least the part he could see. It was a few seconds before the brunette spoke up again. “I’m Oikawa!”

He was met with a slightly confused face from Iwaizumi. His eyebrows were furrowed a little as if he were trying to figure out just what the other had said. “This isn’t Starbucks.”

Oh. He thought Oikawa said it for him to write it on a cup! “Oh, no no. No, I just thought, you know…because we have a class together and all I’d introduce myself.”

“Do we?”

Shit. Oikawa hadn’t thought about that possibility. That Iwaizumi could possibly not recognize him. It wasn’t something that had ever happened to the brunette before, so for a second, he just stood there, rock solid and with his smile somewhat crooked.

“Yes…our English class…” His voice sounded a bit less confident which Iwaizumi must have picked up on since he quickly nodded with a small but there smile.

“Oh, okay. I’m Iwaizumi.” Oikawa simply nodded because he was already feeling strange for offering his own name in the first place. He quickly put his smile back on his face, though, because nobody wanted to go out with a gloomy and pouty looking guy, no matter how pretty his – Oikawa’s – face was.

“That’ll be 300 Yen,” he said as he set the intriguingly decorated cup of coffee onto a small plate and pushed it towards Oikawa who in return handed him the correct amount.

“Thank you, Iwaizumi.” Oikawa smiled but didn’t back away just yet. Instead, he just picked up the plate the cup was sat on to take a first sip with his gaze resting on the waiter who was looking at him with his eyebrows furrowed slightly yet again. If he was to make a move, this was it.

“So…what do you major in, then?” He smiled at the boy behind the counter, but it took Oikawa just a moment to realize the other wasn’t about to answer him. His brows furrowed a little more as he glanced to the side – behind Oikawa – and then back at the brunette before he put the three one-hundred yen coins into the register.

“I’m actually kind of busy right now,” he said slowly, and only when Oikawa glanced behind him did he notice three other people had queued up behind him. Oh, God. 

“Oh. _Oh_ , of course. Sure. I’ll…see you in class, then.” With that, Oikawa turned around and – as quickly as one could with a cup full of coffee – returned to his table from before, but this time with his back to the counter. _This_. Had never happened to him before. He felt…awkward. Rejected? Embarrassed? All three together, possibly, but Oikawa tried really hard not to think about it.

He burnt his tongue trying to drink his coffee as fast as he could and left the coffee shop just one minute later, vowing not to come back here for at least a couple of weeks until the people behind him had forgotten the strange guy in front of them trying and failing to flirt with the barista.

But one thing was for certain. Now that he knew Iwaizumi’s name and had – however strangely – introduced himself to him, he wasn’t going to give up. Maybe he’d apologize next time he saw him… Certainly Iwaizumi had only turned him down like that because he was supposed to work. Yes, that had to be it.

As fast as it had disappeared, Oikawa’s confidence was back again. And already he was making plans on how he, irresistible as he was, would win this Iwaizumi guy over.


	2. Off to a bad start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa's first meeting with number one of his two crushes did not really go as planned. His friend and roommate Kuroo is no big help in making him feel any better about his failed flirtation attempt. A little embarrassed, but certainly not discouraged, our hero is preparing himself for the challenge of whooing 'Iwaizumi-san'. Now, how's that going to work out?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi y'all, and ohmygosh thank you guys for being so kind to me! To every single one of those kudo-givers, commenters or subscribers: thank you! I really appreciate it and am so happy you seem to like it.
> 
> I’ll try to update this story on Saturdays every week. :) Enjoy chapter 2!

“Stop laughing, Kuroo!”

It was the morning after the incident and (as expected) Kuroo had only returned late at night with his hair even messier than when they’d left. By that time the brunette was so tired (not from writing his paper mind you, but from binge-watching movie after movie on his roommate’s Netflix account) that he decided to pretend he was already asleep and to just tell him about it in the morning.

Once he’d arrived home the previous day, the only thing on the brunette’s mind had been the failed flirting attempt with his classmate. Iwaizumi was his name, as seen in Oikawa’s diary where he had scribbled it a dozen times, surrounded by tiny red hearts and smiley faces. And he had spent at least an hour trying to come up with a clever yet cute pickup line that would make up for the embarrassment from the other day.

“Sorry, sorry. But…what was it he said? ‘I’m kind of busy right now’?” Kuroo laughed again, and tugged his blanket a bit higher. It was a good thing neither of them had to head out for classes today. Not until noon at least, in Kuroo’s case. “I don’t mean to upset you…but that sounds like a pretty solid rejection to me.”

“Say what you want.” The brunette blew up his cheeks in what could only be described as a sulky pout, eyes trained on his laptop where he was (finally) getting back to writing his paper. “I know he just said it because he didn’t want to get scolded for slacking.”

“Dude, he wasn’t into you.” Kuroo’s words may have been harsh, but the smile he offered his friend over the edge of his blanket was one that showed pity. “Maybe he’s not into guys. Then there’s really nothing you can do, you know.”

Oikawa didn’t reply. The thought had crossed his mind, of course. When he lay down to sleep last night and stared up at the ceiling with his thoughts going off to wherever they wanted, he’d thought of that look on Iwaizumi’s face… It hadn’t really been one of adoration, now that he thought back to it. But still! He hadn’t seemed disgusted with his obvious flirting either, and Oikawa counted that as a win. Which, when he told Kuroo, earned him nothing but some sleepy giggling from his friend.

“Whatever you say, Oikawa. From what you’ve told me, my guess is that he’s either straight or he just really isn’t into you.” Kuroo voiced all this in a murmur. Then he rolled onto his stomach and let his chin rest on his crossed arms. It was obvious from the look on his face that, even though it was nearly ten in the morning, he hadn’t slept enough.

With a pout, Oikawa returned his attention to the open word file on his computer. It was mostly an excuse. He had his chatroom open in a browser file on one half of his screen, the text file on the other. _Bubblegumhair_ wasn’t online, though. So the brunette used the next half hour to at least outline his paper and write a very rough draft for it. It was better than nothing, and by tonight he’d probably have a good portion of it done. Kuroo was going to be out all afternoon and if Oikawa had a choice, then he’d always choose to stay in their dorm in his pajamas, nestled in his warm bed.

Once he’d taken another short nap, Kuroo seemed ready to get up and brew the both of them some coffee…at least Oikawa was hoping it would be enough for both of them. He took the chance and saved his progress before he looked up at Kuroo, who, along with his usual bedhead, wore a pair of black boxer shorts and a cute light blue shirt with smiling clouds on it (which he claimed to have bought ironically, but Oikawa knew was one of his very favorites).

“How was last night, then?”

The response came in the form of a grin that Kuroo shot his way before he grabbed two mugs (that they really needed to wash sometime soon), and poured the filtered coffee in once it was ready. “It was good. She was good, I guess. A bit shy but they’re the best, y’know.”

Oikawa pulled a face and rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. Kuroo laughed, having seen him do it. But apparently he didn’t care too much about what his friend thought.

“What? It’s true. They’re all shy and innocent but when you get through to them…” He didn’t finish the sentence, instead walked back to their beds and handed Oikawa one of the mugs before he sat back down on his own bed. The brunette took a sip of the coffee. It was as bad as ever, but at the very least didn’t require either of them heading out to get anything better that’d be lukewarm anyway by the time they were back at the dorm.

“So you’re not going to see her again?”

“Probably not. Why would I?”

Oikawa pulled a slight face. He’d had a couple of friends like Kuroo before. And truth be told, he’d once given this very lifestyle a try. He’d tried to get as many girls into his bed as he could as long as they were cute... It lasted for about three weeks before the crippling feeling of guilt was too overwhelming and the brunette returned to his old ways: trying to find the perfect partner.

He took another sip and set the mug aside to continue on with his paper, though now slightly distracted by his own thoughts as well as the conversation they were holding.

“Don’t you ever wish for something more…? You know…someone that just kind of…makes you really happy to just think about and be with?”

A loud sigh followed and Oikawa tried to hide a smile. It wasn’t the first time they were holding this conversation, and knowing himself, Oikawa was certain it wasn’t going to be the last. He was certain that deep down – very, very deep down – even Kuroo wished for nothing more than someone to love.

“We’re not all saps like you, Oikawa. At least for now…I don’t care whom I’m with. I don’t have the time for a dedicated relationship anyway. And neither do you, if I say so myself.” Oikawa knew Kuroo was eyeing the laptop resting on the brunette’s lap at this very moment without even looking at the other. This time it was him who let out a long sigh. Unfortunately Kuroo wasn’t even that wrong. Having a relationship with everything else he had going on, much less starting one and putting in the effort to turn it into something actually meaningful…it would prove to be a challenge.

Then again Oikawa had never been one to back down from a challenge.

“We’ll see about that.”

 

The rest of the day was more productive than Oikawa had initially thought or even hoped for. After Kuroo left, he made himself another cup of coffee that kept him going until lunch. He gave himself a short break to head down to a nearby ramen place, and afterwards even managed to keep up his productivity until Kuroo came back in the late afternoon with some much appreciated food.

The next day, a Friday morning after a long night of writing his paper in the light of a nearing deadline, Oikawa hated himself – as per usual – for picking this 8 AM class. What had he been thinking? Yes, he wouldn’t have to wait around for hours in between his classes that way but he also had to get up around 7 AM if he wanted to look decent.

Which he did. Unlike Kuroo, he could not pull off a bedhead. Not to mention his skin was very demanding in its daily cleansing routine if he did not want to get a big, red spot the next day. So, half asleep – but pretty – the brunette dragged himself to his lecture.

In the end, he may as well have stayed in bed. The tutor holding the lecture was having an incredibly bad day, it seemed, and read his text off the powerpoint presentation in the most monotonous voice Oikawa had heard to date. He was almost one hundred percent certain he’d seen at least two people in the row in front of him fall asleep midway through – and he’d almost followed suit.

Even sulkier he left the lecture hall to head towards the cafeteria. A coffee was in order, a decent one this time. He’d earned it, especially when he looked down at his phone just to see a message from Kuroo.

[10:04] _bring food when u come back. –KT_

The bastard. He’d probably only just woken up. Oikawa felt resentful even though their roles had been switched the other day and he really didn’t have reason to, but he was genuinely missing the warmth and comfort of his bed right now. Besides, Kuroo didn’t have a single 8 AM class this semester, so Oikawa felt he deserved to be pouty about it.

Lost in his thoughts and pouting at his phone, Oikawa took the familiar walk to the cafeteria on autopilot…but only a moment after rounding the next corner really wished he hadn’t. He bumped into someone head-on and was about to apologize when said someone swore loudly.

“Fucking hell! Ow- that’s hot!”

Oikawa froze in shock. His brain, still without caffeine, was working with any capacity it had, trying to catch up with the information being provided to him.

He’d bumped into someone.

Looking up, he realized it was someone he knew…pretty well by now (depending on what your definition of ‘knowing someone’ was).

Said someone had been standing near the wall by the corner. And…

He’d been holding a coffee. That had now left a big brown stain on his white shirt…and his jeans. And his arm that he was clutching with the hand he’d probably used before to hold the cup that was now on the floor, empty.

“Oh...oh no. Oh my God, I’m so sorry!”

This wasn’t happening. Oikawa was really sure he was having some kind of drug-induced nightmare or something, because he wouldn’t dream this up normally. And it usually wouldn’t feel this real. But this couldn’t be reality. He was staring into those same olive green eyes that he had gazed into just two days ago. Only this time around, the thick (yet surprisingly neat) eyebrows were furrowed into a glare.

“What the hell! Can’t you watch where you’re going?!”

Oikawa wanted to die. He prayed for any God who was possibly out there to open up a black hole behind him and suck him into nothingness, preferably along with Iwaizumi and the people around them, some of which seemed to be his friends and were now hurrying towards them to see if they could help.

“Shit, Iwaizumi! Are you okay?”

“He burnt his arm…we should run cold water over it.”

“Does it hurt a lot?”

The sensation of heat in his cheeks was still foreign, yet Oikawa wasn’t surprised. Iwaizumi seemed to have that strange effect on him…in all the wrong ways, unfortunately. But he couldn’t let that stop him now. He was just pushing himself into worse and worse lighting and therefore making his chances of getting close to Iwaizumi smaller and smaller. He had to do _something_!

“I’m sorry! I wasn’t…I was looking at my phone! Wait, I’ll help you-“

“Just back off.” No longer yelling, but definitely still angry, Iwaizumi turned away, towards his friends, one of which took a closer look at his arm. Then they walked off in the direction of the bathrooms, presumably for the cold water.

 

To say things could be challenging was an understatement. The sinking feeling in Oikawa’s stomach was an indicator that things had just gotten so much harder. He no longer felt like having any coffee (ever again, in fact), and turned to walk back the way he’d come from, away from wherever it was that Iwaizumi and his friends were headed.

Oikawa kept his gaze on the ground in front of him as he walked all the way back to the other side of campus and left the building. He really wasn’t in the mood to go sit in another lecture right now, and he doubted he’d pick up any of the information thrown at him even if he did.

Not feeling like heading back to the dorm just yet either (because he’d certainly bump into Kuroo if he did), Oikawa wandered off towards the nearby bus stop that would take him downtown. His mind was blank, a dull ache in his stomach as he stepped on the bus and paid for his fare. It took him a few minutes to realize the feeling. Humiliation. He’d thought, back in the coffee shop only two days ago, that he’d been humiliated…but if he had to be in one of those two situations again, the choice wouldn’t be hard. At the very least he had only embarrassed himself in front of other customers. He hadn’t spilled burning coffee on his crush’s arm that time at least, for God’s sake!

Two hours and one small bag of groceries (and a bucket of ice cream for comfort) later, Oikawa still didn’t feel any better. He had done his very best to distract himself from what had happened. He went shopping for clothes, he’d flirted with the cashier and visited the pet store to look at the cute puppies. The shop assistant, upon seeing his doleful expression, had even let him pet them for once. Nothing helped. When he set foot in his shared dormitory, the only relief he felt was the one at finding his roommate missing.

He put the food he’d brought into their mini fridge and even did the dishes piling in the small sink so Kuroo couldn’t nag at him for not doing his part again. It would just be the rotten cherry on top of a miserable day. With his chores done and the lectures over for the day anyway, Oikawa put on his sweatpants and a worn-out shirt before he dropped into bed and tugged his sheets over him.

It hadn’t been the best of weeks for him. A pretty bad one, in fact. He couldn’t remember feeling this bad in all his years of High School. With a soft whine he dragged the blanket slightly higher so that it would cover his face. That way, if Kuroo came in, he’d just leave him alone even if Oikawa was only pretending to be asleep.

He knew he was going to regret missing out on that lecture today, and the fact that he still had a paper to finish for Tuesday. But for now, he just wanted to sleep, to forget, to not talk to anyone at all.


	3. If at first you don't succeed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After not just one but two failed introductions, Oikawa’s self-confidence isn’t exactly at its peak. It seems some cheering up from his closest friends is needed. Does Kuroo manage to cheer up his roommate? And what about Oikawa's online crush who has been mysteriously absent the past day?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please excuse any grammar mistakes/typos that might have snuck into this chapter. I've been sick since Thursday but I really wanted to post this today still. As always, thanks for every kudo/sub/comment, I'm glad you all like it so far! Enjoy chapter 3!

“Seriously, Oikawa. What happened?”

There was a short silence before the brunette breathed in a deep breath and audibly exhaled into a sigh. Kuroo had long since dropped the teasing look on his face and looked nearly worried by now. It wasn’t surprising, because ever since he’d woken up, his roommate had just laid there, quietly, typing away at his laptop. At first he had teasingly mentioned that Oikawa needed to type a bit faster if he wanted to make his deadline, but there hadn’t even been a sign of a response on Oikawa’s face.

“Nothing.”

“Don’t say ‘nothing’, you haven’t said a word in over an hour. Or moved. You can’t be that set on making your deadline, or you’d be begging me to bring you coffee.”

Oikawa paused, and shot a short glance at his friend. Kuroo was looking right at him, his phone abandoned on the nightstand – a rare occurrence since he usually liked to multitask while holding up a conversation when it was just the two of them. He appreciated his friend’s obvious concern for him, but it didn’t change the fact that he just…really didn’t want to talk right now.

“I’m fine, Kuroo. It…just wasn’t a very great day. That’s all.”

With that, he turned back to his laptop screen and continued to type away at his paper. It was starting to take on shape – which, with the upcoming deadline in less than three days, was a very good thing. Not only that, but it also provided him with some much needed distraction. Talking about what happened yesterday wasn’t going to help him, not when the memory of Iwaizumi’s angry face was still so fresh in his mind…Oikawa almost shuddered at the mere thought of it.

When Kuroo stood up, Oikawa figured he’d made his point and the other was leaving him alone. And as expected, his roommate got dressed and checked his hair (or rather, his bedhead) in the mirror above their little sink. Only, he didn’t leave. Instead, he walked back to the bed and before Oikawa could really do much more, Kuroo took away his laptop. Despite the brunette’s protests, he saved the file with two fingers and then closed the lid before he pushed the computer underneath his own pillow. Then, he turned around with a smug smile.

“Get up.”

A pair of brown eyes blinked up at him and the eyebrows above them furrowed together in confusion.

“What?”

“Get up. I’m taking you shopping. You can get back to your paper later, but you need a little bit of distraction now.”

Oikawa groaned, and let himself drop down into the pillow with his arms outstretched at his sides. Getting up was among the top five things he really didn’t want to do. Except, some fresh air would probably do him good. Not to mention he had to go to the bathroom anyway.

“Kuroooo. I don’t wannaaaa.”

“Ah-ah. I’m not taking no for an answer. Come on. I’ll throw in a Frappuccino if you get ready in the next ten minutes.”

That got him to move. With Kuroo in possession of his laptop and clearly not giving up anytime soon, Oikawa figured he might as well give himself a break. He hadn’t had anything to eat since last night, and he’d been working on the paper for the past three hours. Perhaps Kuroo was right, and he deserved a break from all this. Besides, his roomie wasn’t asking any questions anymore, which made it a win-win situation.

Only when Kuroo stepped up and started to tug on his arm just enough to make Oikawa slide dangerously close to the edge of his bed did the brunette get up and comply.

“You better get me that Frappuccino.”

 

Kuroo was a man of his promises, and their first stop downtown was Starbucks. With a tall green tea crème for each of them and the streets around them bustling with life, Oikawa felt just a bit closer to reality, though not necessarily better. If nothing else, the drink made him realize how hungry he actually was, and the two stopped for some curry before the actual shopping began.

It was far from the first time they went shopping for clothes together – as crazed as the both of them were about their appearances, it was almost second nature to help find each other new outfits. Oikawa found he kind of liked that silent pact they’d decided on. Kuroo would always tell him when something just didn’t look quite right, or even silly. Just like he’d always tell him if he looked, quote unquote, ‘bootylicious’. A word Oikawa still claimed he found lame despite always grinning about it (and silently agreeing, because skinny jeans just really _did_ make his butt look great).

Today wasn’t just a usual day, though. Being dragged to his favorite stores was not fun, and standing there whilst Kuroo held up shirts to find a new one that looked good on his friend wasn’t pleasant and amusing. It was…just a drag.

And Oikawa kind of hated himself for it. His friend was merely trying to help. He was doing whatever he could to distract the brunette from something he wasn’t even sure of what it was. But Oikawa just couldn’t get into it.

 

“Come on out, let’s see it!”

A soft whine came from behind the curtain before Oikawa poked out his head, clearly not amused. It seemed Kuroo had moved on from trying to find him a nice shirt and was just trying to get him to laugh now.

“Kuroo, this is ridiculous…”

“Oh come on. I’m sure it looks cute at least!”

With a sigh, the brunette stepped out from behind the curtain. Just to humor his friend he was going to let himself be seen in the silly blue shirt that had yellow ducks all over it. The laughter that followed was almost worth it.

“I think it looks great! You should wear it to the next party.”

“Kuroo, stop it…”

Oikawa wasn’t laughing. He didn’t find it funny, and he was just done. All he wished for was a quiet afternoon back at the dorm. Not talking to anyone. Just pitying himself, maybe finish his paper so that he could spend all Sunday in bed tomorrow.

Apparently his dismal facial expression was enough to make Kuroo see he was fighting a lost battle. Nothing he’d done had managed to cheer Oikawa up even a little. He’d bought him food, put a new outfit together for him (which Oikawa refused to let him pay for since neither of them really had money to spare in the first place) and tried to make him laugh, all without results. The smile slowly dropped from his face, and he nodded.

“Okay. Let’s go back, then.”

The brunette returned to the changing rooms and came back a few minutes later. He paid for the jeans and the button down shirt Kuroo insisted he looked absolutely stunning in, and then left the store with his friend at his side. As they walked, Kuroo didn’t say anything. However, a minute into their walk, he put an arm around Oikawa’s shoulder without a single word. The simplest gesture of the day, and yet it was the only one that managed to make Oikawa feel just a little bit better. His own arm came up around Kuroo’s torso, and the taller teen nudged their heads together playfully in a way that was strangely soothing.

 

Back at the dorm, Kuroo seemed to have finally accepted Oikawa’s need for some peace and quiet, and left just minutes after their arrival with a quiet mention of heading to the library. Though, he did so not without first handing Oikawa’s laptop back to him and even making him some coffee before he left. And now, the brunette felt even worse with the guilty, sinking feeling in his stomach over being so unappreciative of his friend’s efforts to make him happy.

It was just a couple of minutes after his roommate had left and Oikawa had continued on with his paper (that he was now desperate to just finish and be done with) when he heard a familiar sound. It took the brunette a second and two more familiar noises to realize it was the notification that someone had entered the chat room he’d opened earlier that morning.

He switched to his Internet tab just to see _bubblegumhair_ was online and had already texted him. Without Oikawa having to start them off with a message. Now, that was a first.

 

[15:17] _bubblegumhair: hey_

[15:17] _bubblegumhair: how are you?_

 

Oikawa blinked. After everything that happened with Iwaizumi, he’d almost forgotten about his other crush. The boy who didn’t seem incredibly talkative but who liked to listen to Oikawa’s stories and would always have an open ear. Certainly he’d be willing to listen to the brunette talk about the shitty day he’d had yesterday. But…

 

[15:18] _volleyboy97: hey, bubble-chan. not too great… and you?_

[15:18] _bubblegumhair: what’s wrong?_

[15:18] _volleyboy97: ah…yesterday just sucked. sorry, I’m not really in the mood to talk about it._

[15:19] _bubblegumhair: that’s okay_

There was a short pause in which Oikawa thought perhaps his online friend thought it better to leave him alone (in which case he’d take a hint a lot sooner than his roommate), but just shortly after he’d returned to writing his paper he once again heard the soft ‘bing’ of a new incoming message.

 

[15:23] _bubblegumhair: if I were your roommate, I’d totally bring you ice cream right now. you deserve it._

 

Oikawa put both hands over his face and leaned back with a barely audible squeal that was muffled by his hands. His crush on the unknown boy had been bad before, but now he was not just mysterious, smart, funny, and kind…he was also absolutely sweet when Oikawa needed him to! This was just getting out of hand. And yet the brunette found himself really smiling for the first time that day.

 

[15:24] _volleyboy97: if there was any space left in our room, I’d totally squeeze you in._

[15:25] _bubblegumhair: that’s fine, I can just creepily live under your roommate’s bed and occasionally scare him._

 

A soft laugh bubbled up in Oikawa’s throat. It seemed there really was someone who could make him feel better when he was down. Darn it, now he felt even guiltier for being pouty towards Kuroo and all his best efforts.

 

[15:25] _volleyboy97: well, what about you? how are you today?_

[15:26] _bubblegumhair: I’m ok. better than yesterday. I actually didn’t have the most amazing time either._

[15:26] _volleyboy97: do you want to talk about it, by any chance? I mean you don’t have to if you don’t want to..._

[15:26] _bubblegumhair: oh, nothing much happened really. just a little accident._

[15:27] _volleyboy97: accident?!?_

[15:27] _bubblegumhair: hehe. did that scare you?_

[15:27] _bubblegumhair: it wasn’t even really an accident, some weirdo ran into me and I got coffee spilt all over my arm and my shirt._

 

Oikawa froze.

His brain was still processing the words he’d just read, but his heart had just skipped a beat in a way that told him something was very wrong. The realization started to set in only when he felt the cold shivers that ran down his back.

 _Bubblegumhair_ was apparently a Tokyo resident. He was a student, too, but they never talked about where they studied – somehow, they’d just agreed to keep some of the more important parts of their identities private.

Everything that he knew about his chat partner was his location and that he was the same age. Apart from that, they only talked about things they liked – volleyball, a lot of the time. Music, movies, all kinds of stuff. For all he knew… _bubblegumhair_ could be a student at Tokyo University.

Oikawa shook his head. No, no. He was being paranoid. Apparently because his life was a mess right now, his imagination seemed to be going crazy, too. There was no way a coincidence like that was possible. It was a, what…one in a million chance? Oikawa wasn’t sure (then again, he had never been the greatest at mathematics either).

 

[15:31] _volleyboy97: oh my god!!! Are you okay?!_

[15:31] _bubblegumhair: calm down, I’m okay._

[15:31] _bubblegumhair: it’s a bit red and feels like a bad sunburn, but I got some ointment to put on so there shouldn’t be any blisters or anything lasting._

[15:32] _volleyboy97: ok, that’s good then._

 

Oikawa’s fingers paused just after they hit the enter button, and he hesitated with one finger already on the next key. He knew it would have to be some giant coincidence if his online friend turned out to be his real life crush. It was basically impossible, mathematically speaking (he knew that much, at least). And yet…he felt hesitant to ask anything about the accident. He shook his head again. His imagination was getting the better of him, it seemed. If anything, he could learn from his chat partner what would be the best way to apologize to Iwaizumi for what he’d done so that the other would forgive him.

 

[15:33] _volleyboy97: did the other guy apologize at least?_

[15:34] _bubblegumhair: I guess? I was a bit preoccupied with my burnt arm so I wasn’t paying much attention._

[15:34] _volleyboy97: right, of course.._

[15:35] _bubblegumhair:_ _it hurt like hell…I think I wasn’t very nice to him._

 

Cold sweat was starting to form on Oikawa’s back without him even realizing it. He didn’t want to, but he couldn’t help compare his friend’s words to the scenario that had been burnt into his brain since it had happened the very day before.

Iwaizumi hadn’t been very nice, and Oikawa wasn’t blaming him. Having burning coffee spilt over your arm couldn’t be the greatest of feelings. He would have yelled just like Iwaizumi – and maybe cried, but that was beside the point. Before he could stop himself (or maybe he just didn’t want to) his fingers started to move over the keyboard again.

 

[15:36] _volleyboy97: I’m sure he doesn’t blame you. you were badly hurt after all.._

[15:37] _bubblegumhair: I hope so. I don’t usually yell at people._

 

Another hesitation. It couldn’t be. If Iwaizumi really were _bubblegumhair_ , then the brunette would have long since found out, right? Besides, Iwaizumi was absolutely not the type of guy to spend his free time in a chat room like some loser – like Oikawa. But…that didn’t mean he couldn’t still try to get some help out of this situation. It was just so similar, so…convenient, in a strange way. Maybe if he just found the confidence, he could try and apologize to Iwaizumi again. Maybe he’d be able to make another first impression.

 

[15:39] _volleyboy97: so…you think if he were to apologize again, you’d forgive him?_

[15:40] _bubblegumhair: huh?_

[15:40] _volleyboy97: just curious, I’ve accidentally spilt coffee on someone before too._

[15:41] _bubblegumhair: oh. well, I guess? I mean there wasn’t any lasting damage._

 

As Oikawa exhaled a slow breath, he noticed the quickening beat of his heart. The conversation with his online crush had planted a strange idea in his head that he was trying to disregard as his overactive imagination. It just couldn’t be. That would be way too much of a coincidence.

Nonetheless, he decided that, since their situations were so similar, he’d try to apologize to Iwaizumi. Properly, without any attempts at flirting. That had already ruined his first impression. And maybe, just maybe, next week would prove to be luckier for him. And with any luck at all, Iwaizumi would finally be willing to talk to him.


	4. Restart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things took a strange turn when Oikawa’s online crush had a weirdly familiar incident on the exact same day as our beloved protagonist. Of course, it could all just be a coincidence. Even so, Oikawa's top priority is redeeming himself to Iwaizumi. If he gets the chance, that is. Is Iwaizumi going to accept his apology?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all you subs and kudos givers, and of course koichii and Cressy for your comments! And for all of you who have been hoping for some fluff: strap on your seat belts and enjoy!  
> As always, all feedback is very welcome.

“Finally!”

With a loud sigh Oikawa leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes, and reached up to rub his temples. It was Tuesday morning and after Sunday had flown by with Oikawa’s time mostly spent writing his paper, he had still used most of the free time he actually had on Monday to make sure his paper was as perfect as it was ever going to get (what with him having pushed back writing it as long as he literally and with good conscience could).

Kuroo snickered and took another sip of his energy drink. How he could drink this on an empty stomach at 8.30 in the morning was beyond Oikawa. He himself was still nibbling on his overprized croissant that he had treated himself to as a reward for actually finishing his paper, without being absolutely disappointed in it too, mind you.

“I don’t even see why you were stressing out over it yesterday. You had plenty of time to spare.”

“Plenty of- I printed the damn thing at ten in the evening, Kuroo!” Oikawa huffed and lifted his cup of coffee to his lips, taking a small sip from it. With the hectic weekend behind him, he needed the energy boost and was glad he didn’t still feel sick to his stomach whenever he as much as heard the ‘c word’.

“So? You got a full night’s sleep last night. I know of guys in my courses that finish their papers at, like, four AM.”

Oikawa pulled a face. Even for a procrastinator like himself that just seemed like too much. The guilt would kill him before he could let it get this far.

“By ‘know of guys’ do you mean yourself? Don’t think I didn’t hear you type away at your laptop that night three weeks ago.”

Kuroo laughed, and shrugged his shoulders in a way as if to say ‘guilty’. Oikawa smiled. His life still wasn’t perfect, and the stress of the paper’s deadline was only slowly lifting off his shoulders, but he was feeling considerably better than he had on the weekend. That was, until he saw a familiar figure sit down at a table not too far from theirs.

“Oh no.”

“What’s wrong?” Kuroo looked up from his phone that he was holding in one hand (energy drink in the other), then followed Oikawa’s gaze to see what or whom he was staring at. He turned his head back around, the eyebrow that wasn't hidden behind his bangs raised in curiosity.

“Is that him?”

Oikawa nodded. In the end, the brunette had caved sometime on Sunday afternoon and told his best friend just what had happened to him. Thankfully Kuroo hadn’t laughed at him as he had over his first failed introduction, perhaps because this one included some potentially lasting consequences. However, the brunette hadn’t told him about the conversation between himself and _bubblegumhair_. He still believed that it could have just been some strange coincidence. After all, people got coffee spilt on them all the time...right?

“Why don’t you go apologize?”

“What?”

Oikawa looked away from Iwaizumi who thankfully seemed not to have noticed him just yet and was sat alone at a table near the exit of the cafeteria. Rationally speaking it was the perfect opportunity to go in and apologize. He was alone, the incident had happened a couple of days ago so it wasn’t fresh in his mind most likely, and what was more important – he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt with no visible bandages or anything of the sort on his arm.

“I can’t.”

“Why not?” Kuroo set down his phone and lifted his energy drink up to his lips again, downing the rest of it before he squeezed the middle part of the can with both thumbs and forefingers. “Oikawa, you’ve been thinking about this all weekend. Just go apologize and see what he says. If he doesn’t accept your apology, screw him. He’s a jerk. If he does, well…it’ll only be good for you.”

Kuroo was right. And Oikawa hated him for it. The last thing he wanted after finishing his paper was more mental stress, and that was what he was experiencing whenever he glanced over towards Iwaizumi and thought about his friend’s suggestion.

“Kuroo…”

“If you don’t sincerely apologize he might never actually want to talk to you.”

“But-“

“Your hair looks great and your butt is hot in those jeans. If that doesn’t catch his attention, nothing will.”

Oikawa closed his mouth. Just that small boost of confidence was enough to get him to stand up, ready for action. If he was going to apologize, then it ought to be on a day when he knew his hair just naturally looked amazing. Also he was wearing his reading glasses, which apparently gave him that cute nerdy sort of look - so he'd heard. Hopefully it would work in his favor.

Before he walked up to Iwaizumi’s table though, he took a detour to get a cup of coffee – one of the big, expensive ones. He had no idea how much sugar or cream Iwaizumi liked, so he just grabbed a few of the packets each and put them on the tray along with the cup of coffee. After he’d paid for it, he took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and started to walk over to the other’s table.

He took the walk with care. Slowly, careful of every step he took. The last thing he needed was to end up tripping and throwing _more_ coffee on Iwaizumi.

By the time he was standing next to Iwaizumi’s table, Oikawa felt as though his heart was going to jump right out of his chest, and his hands felt like they were cramping up where he was holding onto the tray. It took Iwaizumi a couple of seconds to notice someone had stopped by his table, and for him to look up from the paper he had apparently been reading over.

The surprised look on his face quickly changed into one of suspicion, his brows sinking down lower over his eyes, a crease between them as they furrowed.

“Yes?”

Oikawa gulped. That did not sound like a friendly invitation, but he hadn’t been expecting one either. And yet, the words he’d carefully sorted out while he had been getting the coffee suddenly seemed very lame and still not sincere enough. Quickly, he cleared his throat – no matter how this was going to end, he’d finally get some closure for the incident. Whether Iwaizumi accepted his apology or not.

“I…I wanted to apologize.” He paused for just a second, and his gaze fell down on the tray he was holding before he continued to speak. “For what happened…I didn’t pay attention and I swear I didn’t mean to run into you. I feel really bad…and I hope you didn’t get hurt badly and…and I want to apologize...for what I did in the coffee shop, if I embarrassed you at work…that wasn’t my intention either.”

As soon as he started to talk, the words just seemed to flow right out. They didn’t come in the cute, orderly fashion that he had wanted them to in order to win Iwaizumi’s affection, and he definitely hadn’t meant to bring up his introduction almost a week ago…but maybe it was better that way. Trying to be cute hadn’t helped him before and trying to flirt his way into forgiveness would just make him look like a creep. As his words slowed, he stepped a little bit closer, just enough to set down the tray before he took a small step back again.

“I…got you a coffee. To make up for the one I spilt on you, I mean.”

Silence fell over them and Oikawa still wasn’t looking at Iwaizumi, until he couldn’t bear it any longer. It was probably just a few short seconds that he looked at the other guy who was still scrutinizing him with furrowed brows, but it felt like at least a minute before Iwaizumi reacted at all. And when he did, it was as though a whole mountain had been lifted off of Oikawa’s heart.

His brows slowly returned to what Oikawa knew as their normal position, and the corners of his lips quirked up slightly. It was just a barely there smile, but it still made the brunette’s heart beat faster – this time with excitement much rather than anxiety.

“It’s okay.”

“Wait- really??” Oikawa’s whole face lit up instantly, and apparently it must have been a very funny transition because what he heard next form Iwaizumi was a soft chuckle, an honestly amused chuckle. Oikawa felt like he was going to melt from the inside. It was such a simple sound and yet it made the brunette forget all about the past days that he’d felt downright miserable.

“Yeah, of course. It happens…and I shouldn’t just have yelled. Sorry about that.”

Oikawa’s eyes widened slightly and a big smile slid right onto his face as he heard that. Not only did Iwaizumi forgive him – he also felt bad about yelling at him. Not that Oikawa thought he had any reason to. At the time it may have embarrassed him, but he certainly felt he would have reacted in the same way.

“No, no, not at all! I really should have paid more attention…”

He was smiling still, and glanced down at his hands for a second. This could be his chance to actually introduce himself and perhaps redeem himself for that somewhat awkward first and horrible second impression he’d left. But somehow, it just didn’t feel right. Iwaizumi was willing to forgive him and Oikawa shouldn’t be hoping for too much. He’d be lucky if the other greeted him in the halls from now on.

“Well…I’ll leave you be, then.”

Just as he was turning away to walk back to Kuroo and possibly be hit by a very smug remark of ‘told you it’d be fine’ when he heard Iwaizumi’s voice again. And it said something the brunette had definitely not been expecting to hear.

“You can stay.”

Oikawa turned back to face him, a confused and definitely surprised look on his face.

“Huh?”

“It’s only fifteen minutes to our class anyway. You’re in English too, right?”

Oikawa stared. Then his eyes widened once more, though this time with realization as he pulled back the chair opposite Iwaizumi and grinned at him.

“So you DO know what class we share!”

The smile on Iwaizumi’s face showed he did not feel any guilt at all, which Oikawa knew he’d be pouty about if it weren’t for the fact that Iwaizumi remembered what class they were in together.

“I knew I’d seen you somewhere before. I just didn’t remember where until after my shift. Besides, you weren’t wearing these dorky glasses so I almost didn’t recognize you.”

Oikawa’s smile fell and he did his best to look deeply offended (while still making it clear that this was just part of his playful nature).

“Wha- dorky?!” A soft pout appeared on his face as he took them off just to look at them before he set them back on his nose. “I thought they’re cute.”

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, but looked a little bit amused as he lifted up his cup of coffee – without any sugar or cream added.

“They’re fine.”

For some reason this simple reply made Oikawa really happy. Iwaizumi wasn’t the first one to call his glasses dorky, even though most people called them nerdy. Oikawa kind of liked the way they made him look, and he usually felt smarter whenever he was wearing them. As Iwaizumi took a sip of the coffee, the brunette’s gaze drifted slightly to the side of his opposite’s shoulders, towards where Kuroo was clearly staring at him. The other teen’s lips split into a wide grin as he gave his brunette friend a thumb’s up and then took his backpack to leave the cafeteria. After all, it didn’t look like Oikawa was going to come back to him anytime soon.

 

“Oh, my, GOD. You cannot be serious.”

Oikawa’s pout was back and he looked even more offended than when Iwaizumi had called his glasses dorky. The boy walking next to him shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes for what was probably the fifth time in the past ten minutes.

“I’m just saying, there’s absolutely _no_ _proof_ aliens exist. I’m not gonna believe in something that can’t be proven to me.”

“Excuse me but there is a multitude of galaxies, possibly equipped with planets that have atmospheres or even solar systems out there. There’s no _way_ we’re alone!”

Iwaizumi laughed, and Oikawa’s pout softened until he too was smiling. How the hell their conversation had taken such a strange turn, Oikawa wasn’t sure. But just the fact that Iwaizumi was willing to hold a discussion on whether or not the existence of aliens was possible made Oikawa feel like the other might just enjoy talking to him, and his crush on the shorter guy all the worse.

“If you say so. I still don’t believe it.”

Oikawa pouted, but Iwaizumi didn’t seem to care much. They had reached their classroom – all too soon, so the brunette thought – and Iwaizumi was headed towards his usual spot. He thought about following him for a second, but Oikawa felt like that might be pushing his good luck for the day, and so he just walked to his own usual seat and sat down, taking out his paper to have it ready when their lecturer came to collect it.

It was particularly hard to concentrate on what the lesson was about that day because all Oikawa really did was stare at the back of Iwaizumi’s head, though tried not to be too obvious in case the other ever turned and would end up catching him in the act. Towards the end of the lesson however, he was getting a little bit nervous again. Did he talk to Iwaizumi some more? Were they friends now? Or did Iwaizumi just feel the obligation to walk here with him since Oikawa had treated him to coffee? It was frustrating to think about, and as soon as their lecturer let them off for the day, the brunette got up and packed his things, but with one eye still on Iwaizumi.

Sneaky as he was, Oikawa tried to time it so that he was at the door around the same time as Iwaizumi. Who, as he noticed a second later, was talking to two other guys that were incredibly less interesting than his crush. So, Oikawa decided not to say anything as he let them pass through the door first. It was a somewhat disappointing end to their conversation from before, but the brunette decided he shouldn’t be picky. It was already an enormous improvement to last week.

Just as he passed through the door, though, Iwaizumi paused in the middle of one of his sentences and lifted one hand as he looked at Oikawa. He voiced a short ‘see ya’, and then faced – who Oikawa assumed were his – friends again. A seemingly meaningless gesture for some perhaps…but not for Oikawa.

Through this mere gesture, he felt as though he were six foot four. As though he were king of the world – or this University, at the very least. A wide smile stretched over his face, and he pushed his hair out of his face as he left the door. He even waved at a group of girls that were eyeing him, making them giggle in reply. Everyone should be smiling today, Oikawa thought.

It was a beautiful day.


	5. More Coffee Please

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After successfully apologizing to his crush, Oikawa is getting slightly too confident. It seems that Kuroo needs to take the reins again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So… I’ve made it exactly one month keeping up with my schedule of Saturday night posting before failing.  
> To all my dear readers: I don’t think I’ll be able to keep up the ‘one chapter a week’ schedule. Work is keeping me very busy at the moment and I lack the motivation to write a chapter once a week. Sorry!
> 
> Special thanks to koichii and EroKira. Your comments kept me motivated to write this one for this week still. <3

“God, you look so happy it’s almost disgusting.”

Despite his harsh words, Kuroo was grinning as he watched Oikawa bustle around their small dorm room, finally doing some much needed cleaning up that he had been neglecting for the past couple of weeks. He had been in a stupidly great mood ever since yesterday, and even today still as he had returned from his classes after lunch.

The brunette responded by throwing one of Kuroo’s dirty shirts at his friend’s face – as nice as he was today, he wasn’t about to wash his lazy roommate’s clothes for him.

“Don’t pretend like you’re not glad.”

Oikawa pointedly looked at Kuroo who just turned his gaze away, the grin unwavering. He didn’t deny it, however, which was reason enough for Oikawa to believe he was right. He smiled and tried to fit some more of his laundry into their tiny portable washing machine that they’d crammed in the corner beside the sink. They’d invested in it together because neither of them was in the mood to run down to the Laundromat with a bag full of laundry every week.

He poured in some washing powder before he closed the lid and turned on the machine, and then proceeded to hang up the batch he had washed before. Since it only fit a couple of clothes at a time it was a somewhat time-consuming process – but still better than having to wait around at a crammed Laundromat, the brunette thought.

“He’s actually so sweet! He accepted my apology just like that.”

Kuroo grinned again and just gave a ‘mmhmm’ in agreement, and even though it sounded somewhat teasing Oikawa didn’t pay it any attention. Yesterday had been too good of a day to get upset by any teasing now.

“And I mean, yeah he doesn’t believe in Aliens but…have you seen his face? I can’t say it’s a deal breaker when he’s that cute!”

“Oh, definitely.”

With a raised eyebrow, Kuroo watched in amusement as Oikawa walked over to the sink and picked up their previously washed dishes – which consisted of exactly two pairs of plates, a couple of pieces of cutlery and a few mismatched mugs – to dry them off and put them in their cupboard. He really was in a great mood. And he kept rambling on and on and on…

“…so really, if you think about it, he’s still a 90% perfect catch, yes? And his shortness…it just makes him more desirable! All I have to do is make sure to charm his pants off next time I see him and-”

“Oikawa, you need to stop.”

The offended noise coming from his best friend made Kuroo laugh. Certainly his friend didn’t think he seriously meant for him to shut up. They knew each other much too well by now than for either of them to get honestly offended by something as innocent as a ‘shut up’.

“I just mean, you’re being a tiny bit obsessive.”

Kuroo sat up, and before his best friend could argue and try to figure out a way to make it clear how _not_ obsessive he was, he continued.

“That’s what ruined it for you last time, didn’t it? From what you told me, you were just being yourself and honest for once. Maybe that’s the way to go for this one.”

This shut Oikawa up. Kuroo was saying something very true, and even though it made him want to pout and argue his point, he couldn’t get around to think that maybe he should just listen to the other. Oikawa still thought that their first and second meetings had just been bad luck for him – he couldn’t possibly have known that there were people queuing up behind him, and he certainly hadn’t meant to throw coffee over Iwaizumi!

But the fact remained that when he had honestly apologized and then continued to talk to him despite the weird choice of topic – aliens -, something that Oikawa was so strangely passionate about. Or…if Kuroo’s theory was correct…perhaps because of the weird choice of topic. Usually people were rather…surprised (or, as Kuroo would call it: weirded out) when they got a glimpse behind the façade (or, as Oikawa would call it: the perfect version of himself that he was to the outside world).

But Iwaizumi had seemed amused at most. Oikawa sighed.

“Okay. What do you suggest I do instead?”

“Let’s go pay him a visit and just see how he’s doing.”

“What?”

Oikawa looked confused – and maybe a little apprehensive.

“You said he works at that café we went to, yeah? Let’s go see if he’s there.”

Kuroo got up, clearly convinced that this was one of his better ideas. Oikawa wasn’t quite as sure about that.

“But- I don’t even know if he’s working today!”

“It’s Wednesday. He worked there last week, so unless his shift changes on a weekly basis, he should be there in a little while.”

Shit. The brunette hadn’t thought that far ahead, but Kuroo was right. A glance at his smartphone told him that it was nearly four in the afternoon. It had already been a week since incident number one, and things were finally looking up. And despite how confident Oikawa had been acting only a minute ago (with his plans of ‘charming Iwaizumi’s pants off), he wasn’t feeling _that_ confident to pay his crush a visit right this minute.

“…he’s probably gonna be busy. I mean, he’s gonna have to serve customers and-“

“We’ll be customers.”

The neutral look on Kuroo’s face could have fooled anyone, but Oikawa could see the very faint hint of a smug smirk around his lips. It told him that, no matter what excuse he came up with, Kuroo would not let up until he agreed to pay the café another visit. The brunette pouted.

“I hate you so much. Why are we even friends?”

“Shut up, you love me.”

Oikawa groaned and put away the final glass, closing the cupboard door before he walked over to his clothes hangers to find himself an outfit worthy of paying his crush a surprise visit. Except, hopefully a more successful one than that first time.

“Yes I do…fine. But not before my laundry’s done. The shirts get wrinkly enough as it is in this tiny washer.”

 

“How’s my hair?”

Kuroo groaned, and looked at Oikawa with a bored expression on his face. It was the third time the brunette had asked him that…in the past ten minutes.

“For the last time, you look hot. You’ll charm his pants off. Can we talk about something else than your appearance now?”

Oikawa pouted.

“I’d rather not, but fine.”

They were slowly approaching the café Iwaizumi worked at. Only this time around, Oikawa actually paid attention to it. After all, it held a certain interest for him now. From the outside, it looked kind of cute. A nice little café, but still fairly popular because of its modern appearance compared to surrounding shops. Oikawa looked up at the sign above the door. ‘Steamin’ Mugs’, it said. A funny name, really.

When they approached, Kuroo gave him the honor of holding the door open for him so that Oikawa could enter first. Instantly, his gaze flickered toward the counter at the far back of the café. A girl stood there, the same one as last week, if Iwaizumi remembered correctly. A glance at his cell phone told him that it was just a couple minutes till four. If Kuroo was right, it would only be a couple more minutes until Iwaizumi was to be here, too.

“There’s a free table over there,” Kuroo said and started to walk towards said table before Oikawa could even really get a word in. A good idea, though. If they just waited until Iwaizumi’s shift started until they ordered, perhaps he would be able to strike up a conversation. The café was well frequented today as well, from the looks of it quite a few high school or College students, but also business people grabbing a coffee for on the go.

They sat down and Oikawa reached up to brush away some strands of hair again, but Kuroo caught his hand before he could.

“Stop. It looks fine.”

“Sorry,” Oikawa said with a small smile, and Kuroo just grinned. Just one second later though, he was letting his gaze roam over the café, in search of his next challenge, Oikawa supposed.

With a roll of his eyes, he looked down at his phone and scrolled through his social media. He was just looking at the amount of likes his last Instagram selfie had received when he heard the noise of a chair moving over the ground, making him look up. He frowned.

“Where are you going?”

Kuroo turned to look at him and grinned.

“Aaah.” Oikawa rolled his eyes and sighed, which made Kuroo’s face take on at least a somewhat apologetic look. Just seeing that made Oikawa chuckle and wave one hand at him.

“Go.”

“Thanks.”

With a smirk, Kuroo ran a hand through the back of his already messy hair before he walked off to the counter, and, after getting himself a cup of coffee, towards the other side of the café. Oikawa couldn’t see exactly where he was headed off to, but since he didn’t return a minute later the brunette figured he must have been at least semi-successful.

With a sigh, he returned his attention back to his phone, but was startled by a voice just a minute later. So badly he almost dropped the phone in his right hand.

“You’re looking kind of lost. Are you waiting for someone?”

The God of Karma must have felt rather guilty for what he or she had done to Oikawa the week before. Despite knowing the voice that had just spoken to him, the brunette still didn’t quite believe his eyes as he looked up at Iwaizumi – who, seeing his confused and shocked face, laughed.

“Sorry. Did I startle you?”

Oikawa blinked rapidly, and a wide smile appeared on his face. Iwaizumi looked even better in his apron when he was wearing a grin on his face.

“No! No, not at all. I was just…lost in thought, yeah.”

Iwaizumi chuckled again.

“Got it. So…I hate to be a buzz kill, but we kind of have that ‘you have to buy something to hang out’ rule so…”

Oikawa laughed and waved Iwaizumi off before the other could feel too awkward.

“No worries, I was going to order something in a minute anyway.”

Iwaizumi smiled. And thankfully, he didn’t think that far to ask Oikawa why he hadn’t just walked over to the counter to buy something by now. He reached into the pocket of his apron and pulled out a small notepad and a pen.

“Awesome. What can I get for you, then?”

Oikawa put a finger to his chin and tapped it a couple of times while humming softly. It was never too soon to at least look a little cute, right?

“I fancy a cappuccino. And…do you guys have cakes?”

“Of course. All kinds.”

“Then…since I don’t know what kind you have…bring me a piece of whichever you think is best.”

Perhaps he was taking things a bit far. A little bit too fast. If Iwaizumi thought this was weird, then Oikawa had probably blown it for good. As he wrote down Oikawa’s order, Iwaizumi shot him a short glance. Then…he smiled.

“Sure thing. Be right back.”

Oikawa was beaming as he watched Iwaizumi’s retreating backside. He was going to have to treat Kuroo to some ice cream after this (or perhaps tomorrow, if Kuroo was to spend the evening somewhere else again). With a smile, he looked back down at his phone to browse his Facebook while he waited for his coffee, thinking about what his next move should be.

 

“Wow, that was hard.”

Oikawa froze, and he looked up at Kuroo who was sitting down in front of him, looking slightly less enthusiastic than when he had left. But Oikawa didn’t have time to ask him about that. He was on a mission here!

“What are you doing here?”

“He was cute, but apparently he’s not much for talking.” With a smirk, he held up his phone in two fingers. “Got his phone number, though.”

“Iwaizumi’s gonna bring me my drink in a minute, go away!”

Kuroo pouted and pushed his phone into his jeans – that, on another note, were so tight that the brunette was wondering how he found the space to store his phone in his pocket.

“Why can’t I stay? I’m not gonna embarrass you or anything.”

“No but I was gonna ask if he wanted to sit with-“

He stopped when he saw from the corner of his eye Iwaizumi approach their table again. This time around it was the waiter who looked surprised as he carefully put his cappuccino with its small saucer down in front of Oikawa, shortly followed by a plate holding a piece of cheesecake with half a strawberry on top. It looked rather delicious.

“Here we go- so you were waiting for someone after all, huh?”

Oikawa froze. Exactly what did Iwaizumi mean by that?

“I- oh, no, Kuroo was just…I mean we came here together but he left. He’s my friend”

Iwaizumi chuckled and shook his head as he took a small step back.

“It’s okay, I didn’t think you lied to me if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“You know,” Kuroo said, smiling up at their waiter as he took a sip of his own still half-full coffee, “you look like you could use a break – you could join us, if you want.”

Oikawa gave his friend a deadpan stare. This was a horrible excuse as it was, but even more so considering Iwaizumi’s shift must have started maybe five minutes ago. God, Oikawa just wanted to die.

Thankfully, Iwaizumi seemed to find it a nice gesture, but he still shook his head.

“Thanks, but I’m not supposed to hang out with customers. Or slack off, that is. So…enjoy. See you in class.”

He directed that last part to Oikawa who smiled and waved him off. Then, he let his gaze return to Kuroo…and was faced with the biggest, shit-eating grin he’d seen to date.

“Don’t say a word.”

“I wasn’t gonna say anything.”

“I know, but you were thinking things!”

Kuroo laughed, and lifted his coffee back to his lips for a long sip. He held true to his word and didn’t say anything about what had just happened, and Oikawa was thankful for it. But in his thoughts, he agreed. Coming here this afternoon had been the best idea ever.


	6. Revelation?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: It seems not only Oikawa has developed a bit of a crush on someone in the coffee shop. It’s time to put his own problems aside and give his friend some advice for once. Well…at least for now…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome back! Work is still keeping me busy and making me angry but this is my little pool of happiness to dive into as a distraction so I’m back again!
> 
> Another big and cuddly ‘thank you’ to Erokira, koichii, and am_i_write for your kind comments! <3

“Come on, please stop pouting already. I bought you dinner last night and everything.”

Oikawa purposely pushed his lower lip out further before slurping up some more noodles even though he was trying to make it look like he wasn’t particularly hungry. All it did was make Kuroo, who was sitting next to him at the Ramen bar, chuckle before he plucked up a piece of meat from his own bowl.

“I could have asked him on a date. Now he thinks _we’re_ dating or something.”

Kuroo rolled his eyes. Oikawa had been dramatically whiny about that all evening. Even now, the day after at noon, the brunette seemingly hadn’t fully forgiven him yet. That, or he was just trying to milk Kuroo’s guilty mind for what it was worth. Id est, dinner at a fast food restaurant and lunch at this very ramen bar.

They both knew the truth, though. Oikawa wasn’t really angry. In fact, if he were honest with himself, deep down he was glad Kuroo had interrupted. And he hadn’t had the chance to think about whether or not he should ask Iwaizumi to sit with him.

“Of course he _doesn’t_ think that. And even if he does…that only means he’s cool with the whole ‘guys and guys’ thing,” Kuroo said before he audibly slurped up a big mouthful of noodles.

Oikawa watched him, and then averted his gaze back to his own already half empty bowl of ramen.

“I guess you’re right.”

Somehow, it wouldn’t be all bad if Iwaizumi thought him and Kuroo were dating. If he were to ask about it, then Oikawa could let him know that he was as free and single as a bird and ready to mingle like…an elephant, or some other kind of affectionate animal. And at the very least that’d mean he wasn’t someone who was opposed to the idea of two guys being together. Of course, that still didn’t mean he was gay. If only there were a way…to find out about that…

 

As they left the ramen shop, Oikawa having felt generous enough to pay Kuroo back for dinner the last night, the latter was busily typing away at his phone. The brunette sighed loudly and in a drawn-out way so as to show his best friend he was not giving him enough attention.

“Sorry. I’ll be right with you.”

Oikawa pouted.

“Who are you texting this time? The one you saw at the coffee shop?”

Kuroo nodded, but kept typing and so Oikawa helpfully grabbed the back of his hoodie to keep him from walking into oncoming traffic. Some days the brunette felt like Kuroo would have been in one or three car accidents if it weren’t for his watchful and pretty eyes. Finally, when the light turned green for them and Oikawa gave his best friend a gentle nudge to start walking, he put his phone away.

“That one indeed,” he grinned, and pushed both hands into his hoodie pocket, winking at a group of passing girls whose heads all turned to watch him walk away.

“So? Who is he? You haven’t told me anything about him.”

Not that it was his fault. It wasn’t like Oikawa had spent a grand amount of the evening moping and whining as he had tried to catch up with his reading.

“I mean, I didn’t know much about him until then…still don’t know a whole lot, really.” They rounded a corner into the street that’d lead them towards campus. There was still plenty of time till their next classes, and so the two enjoyed a stroll in the warm and sunny weather.

“So. His name’s Kozume…but I get to call him Kenma.”

The grin on Kuroo’s face and the singsong tone of his voice told Oikawa everything he needed to know, and he rolled his eyes accompanied with a snort.

“He doesn’t really talk a lot in person, so…I asked if he’d be more comfortable talking to me through text.”

This time Oikawa groaned.

“Oh wow, that has got to be _the_ lamest excuse to get his number that I’ve heard, _ever_ , Kuroo.”

The dark-haired teen laughed, but didn’t deny it.

“Aaanyway,” he continued in a voice that made it clear he did not feel the least bit guilty about how sneaky that move had been, “he’s actually pretty cool. Sort of… He’s very much into gaming and studies web development.”

Now Oikawa looked at his best friend as if he was just slightly crazy.

“Are you serious? Socially awkward…gamer…web design… he sounds like a nerd to me.”

“Web _development_ ,” Kuroo corrected, and Oikawa wondered quietly whether there really was a difference, “and he’s not socially awkward…very. I think he just isn’t much of a talker. He always replies to my texts, though.”

“Whatever you say,” Oikawa shrugged, and looked at his watch to make sure there was still enough time to head up to the dorms and get his laptop before his next class.

“So? Are you going out on a date already?”

Kuroo didn’t answer right away, and Oikawa turned his head to see if perhaps he’d asked the wrong question – even though up until now it had always been answered with either a grin or the specifics of when and what kind of date it was going to be.

“Not yet.”

Oikawa tilted his head to the side. Kuroo was looking rather thoughtful. For some reason the brunette also thought it best not to ask too much about it. Perhaps Kuroo wasn’t sure just yet how to ask Kenma out. After all, the only place the two of them had ever picked up any guys had been nightclubs.

“Well…let me know as soon as you do,” Oikawa said and gave his friend a gentle nudge. Kuroo chuckled, and nodded before nudging his own shoulder back against Oikawa’s. From there, their conversation returned to other topics before the both of them were headed off to their classes.

 

“What should I do?”

Oikawa looked up from the book he was reading, at Kuroo sat across from him at the small library desk they’d claimed for themselves two hours ago. It was late afternoon now and the two of them were trying to get some much overdue reading into their day before heading back to their dorm where they’d inevitably end up just lazing around. Which, it seemed, Kuroo was already resorting to at the library.

Oikawa looked confused.

“What do you mean?”

“About Kenma.”

When Kuroo turned his head from where he was eyeing a couple of girls who seemed to be quietly working on a project, and looked at his friend. He looked kind of…frustrated. It seemed the topic of mystery boy Kenma had come back much sooner than the brunette had thought.

“…I’m gonna need more information than that to help you, Kuroo.”

They both leaned over the table to make sure nobody else would be eavesdropping on their conversation. Also…this was a library, and neither of them wanted to be kicked out for disturbing other students – all the important reading material was in here.

“I’m not sure if he’s interested or not.”

Oikawa stared blankly at his best friend. Then he furrowed his brows and tilted his head to the side. What a very strange thing for Kuroo to say. A much more usual statement would have been, ‘I’m not sure if he’s gonna let me jump in his bed tonight’.

“I still don’t get it.”

Kuroo sighed and leaned his upper body onto the table. His arms were outstretched so that both his hands hung over the edge. He topped it off with a pout so uncharacteristic that Oikawa couldn’t get around to giggle softly, one hand covering his mouth to stifle the noise.

“Come on, just tell me. He’s talking to you, isn’t he?”

“I mean, yeah, but…he usually just sends kind of short replies.” He paused shortly. “I asked if I was bothering him but he said he didn’t mind talking to me.”

With a quiet sigh Oikawa put his bookmark down where he had left off and closed his book. Kuroo took this as his cue and started to put his own things into his backpack as well before the both of them left the library for the day. Once outside, the brunette spoke in normal volume again.

“So? He says he doesn’t mind…you say he texts you back… There’s no reason he wouldn’t want to hang out at least. You could get to know him better before springing the question on him.”

There was a short pause from Kuroo’s side again before he nodded and hummed in agreement. A grin was already making its way back onto his face, any insecurities fading from view.

“Yeah…yeah, you’re right. I’m gonna ask him right now.”

With that, he was back at his phone, and Oikawa could hardly hold back a whine. For some reason he was feeling a little bit neglected. Then again, Kuroo always made time for him when he needed him, too. Especially throughout the past week.

 

They didn’t make it to the dorm together. They were halfway there when Kuroo received a text that consisted of only two short words. ‘ _Yeah, sure_.’ Not exactly an excited affirmative to Kuroo’s question whether he wanted to hang out, if you were to ask the brunette. Oikawa was honestly confused as to what his best friend saw in this guy, but the happy look on Kuroo’s face was enough to just make the brunette smile and wish him fun instead.

Now he was back in their dorm, lying on his bed with his laptop propped up against his thighs and a music playlist in the background as he surfed his social networks.

Oikawa liked to pride himself on having good taste in pretty much everything, but that didn’t necessarily include music. However it was only at times like this, when he was alone, that he listened to his guilty pleasures. A playlist made just for these quiet moments with all kinds of pop songs that spoke of love and longing. He knew Kuroo would make fun of him and therefore made sure to never let the other know about it.

His fingers slowly swiped over the touchpad of his laptop as he went through his Facebook dashboard. There were a lot of people on there Oikawa hadn’t talked to in months. People from middle school even that he hadn’t met in recent years. In fact, Oikawa was sure at least two thirds of his Facebook friends list was full of people he wasn’t even in contact with anymore. Perhaps he should clean them out…then again, he was a nosy person and liked to know what people he knew were up to these days.

It was only then that an idea came to mind. In these days, mostly anyone had Facebook. How hadn’t he thought of it before? If he wanted to know more about his crush…all he’d have to do was check if Iwaizumi had an account.

Just as that sneaky thought passed him, a notification sound chimed up from one of his other tabs. The familiar noise of someone joining a chatroom, the noise Oikawa had been waiting for. A strange coincidence, and it made the brunette wonder again. The coffee incident…had it really just been a coincidence? How big was the chance that both his crushes had coffee spilt on them on the very same day?

Biting his lip, Oikawa switched tabs and decided to find out that very moment.

 

[17:09] _volleyboy97: hey there bubble-chan!_

[17:10] _bubblegumhair: you know I’m really not a fan of that nickname_

[17:10] _bubblegumhair: hey, how are you?_

[17:10] _volleyboy97: :((( ok, I won’t call you that anymore! I’m doing fine and u?_

[17:11] _bubblegumhair: I’m okay too. kinda busy lately_

[17:11] volleyboy97: _yeah, me too._

[17:14] _volleyboy97: how’s the arm doing?_

[17:15] _bubblegumhair: oh, it’s all better actually. it really wasn’t that bad in the end._

 

This was where Oikawa hesitated. It wasn’t like it was a weird question or anything. It just…felt like he was about to enter foreign territory. Up until now he’d just been making wild assumptions and telling himself that they were only coincidences. But now that he felt like he was about to find out whether the two were related…he was scared.

 

[17:19] _volleyboy97: good, good!_

[17:19] _volleyboy97: so did that guy who ran into you ever apologize?_

 

Oikawa’s breathing stopped for a second, and he tried to calm himself with slow breaths in through his nose, and slow breaths out through his parted lips. It took only a couple of seconds for the checkmark to appear behind his message, and a second later it told him that _bubblegumhair_ was typing. For a few agonizing seconds, Oikawa was waiting.

 

[17:20] _bubblegumhair: oh, yeah. actually he bought me a coffee to make up for it. he’s actually kind of cool._

[17:21] _bubblegumhair: I feel kind of bad for yelling at him now, haha._

 

Silence.

Oikawa’s playlist had reached its end and he was sitting there, staring right at his laptop screen. He wasn’t feeling anything in particular, and still everything at once.

Shock. Confusion. Excitement. Anxiety. For a couple of seconds he wasn’t sure just how to react. His thoughts were racing and his hands frozen right there on the keyboard. Could this just be another strange and well-timed coincidence? Or…was it maybe possible that…his online friend was also his real life crush?

The brunette inhaled deeply in an attempt to calm himself down again, and his fingers moved over the keyboard almost on their own accord. Only when he hit enter did he think about what kind of question he had just asked. And his face bloomed up bright red.

 

[17:24] _volleyboy97: well was he cute at least?_

 

Oikawa whined, his hands reaching up to cradle his face in them as his widened eyes stared at the laptop, helplessly watching as the checkmark appeared behind his newest message. This time around it took bubblegumhair a longer time to reply, and Oikawa wanted to die every single second he was waiting. For a moment he even thought that perhaps his chat partner would just leave the conversation, until he saw the three little dots signaling to him a reply was being typed.

 

[17:26] _bubblegumhair: I did tell you I’m a guy didn’t I?_

 

Oikawa wanted to throw himself out of his dorm room.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid…” he murmured in a soft whine as he very quickly typed out a reply to try and save whatever he could.

 

[17:27] _volleyboy97: of course yes, I’m sorry that probably sounded weird_

[17:27] _volleyboy97: I didn’t mean it like that…I mean…I did but it’s fine, you can just ignore it!_

 

Silence again. Except this time it was broken by Oikawa’s soft whining as he hid his face behind both hands. God, he was so stupid. Had he just ruined this beautiful, mysterious friendship with his strange question? Not only that, but he’d probably made it so much worse by saying he had meant it just as he’d said it. Why hadn’t he just said he was kidding? Was it too late to throw that one in? No, it’d just make him look even more awkward.

The soft noise of an incoming message was what made him open his eyes – just when had he closed them? – and slowly lower his hands. He didn’t want to look. God, he didn’t want to see what bubblegumhair had to say about his strange question, he just wanted to take it back and forget-

 

[17:29] _bubblegumhair: I mean I guess he kind of is…_

 

A gasp. A squeal. Oikawa wasn’t sure just what his feelings were doing anymore. Hell, he didn’t even know for certain whether his online friend was who he thought he was. And somehow, the message still sent his heart pounding…and he was smiling.

There was still no certain proof that Iwaizumi and _bubblegumhair_ were the same person, if he was completely honest Oikawa didn’t even really want to know right now at least. And yet this one message had made him so happy. Just the idea that Iwaizumi could find him attractive in any way at all was…so overwhelming and incredible.

He released a deep sigh and let his head drop back against the pillow he had propped up against the headboard of his bed. The smile was etched wide on his face as he gazed up at the ceiling, one hand on his chest where he could still feel the fast beat of his heart.

Maybe he had a chance with Iwaizumi after all.


	7. Surprise Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Writing papers and picking up girls (and boys alike) really takes a lot out of you. Kuroo decides that it’s time for him and his roommate to have some time to unwind. What better way to do that than with a house party?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!  
> I apologize for the late update, and in advance for all the next chapters that will probably be uploaded irregularly. Nonetheless I thank koichii, etereoikawa, Carrochan, Erokira, Eizuya and misterlion for all the nice comments! I liked reading each one of them!  
> Now: enjoy chapter 7!

“Give me a P, give me an A, R, T, Y – Parteeeey!”

Oikawa’s face was that of a man with many regrets as he watched Kuroo swing his hips to the beat of a very mediocre ‘dance music’ playlist he had found on Youtube, but couldn’t hide the smile any longer that was breaking out on his face.

“You know, nobody would go out with you if they knew how lame you really are.”

Kuroo didn’t look offended in the least. Instead, he just turned around to Oikawa and aimed his just slightly inappropriate hip thrusts in the brunette's direction, which evidently made Oikawa laugh.

“It’s part of my charm. Cool guy in the streets, dorky in the sheets. No one’s ever complained.” He shot a wink at the brunette – making the other snort again – and turned back to the mirror to make sure his hair sat right and his shirt was neither buttoned up too high or unbuttoned too low.

“If you say so.”

Oikawa smiled and returned his gaze back to the magazine he was skimming through rather than reading. For the first time in what felt like years the two of them were giving themselves an evening devoid of anything study related. And Oikawa wasn’t nearly motivated enough to read anything at all at the moment - be it for his studies or a magazine article.

It was only moments before Kuroo turned around, hands at his hips that he had cocked to the side. This was known as one of his sexy stances, as Oikawa had learned…and that wasn’t even a joke, as it actually seemed to work.

“Will you get ready already? We’re gonna be late. And I don’t mean the fashionable kind.”

Oikawa whined and set aside the magazine.

“I’m tired. Can’t I just sit this one out and sleep?”

Now it was Kuroo who whined, even though in a way that clearly mocked his brunette friend.

“Hell to the no, Oikawa. We haven’t even been to a party in _weeks_. Our social life is basically _non_ - _existent_ at this point!”

Oikawa blinked. Sure, he liked a party as much as the next person but if you were to ask him, you could very well live a few weeks without one. And sleep just sounded so incredibly good right now. He wasn’t sure when he had last managed to get in a full six hours without any breaks in between (he liked to say that it was all the fault of being in College, but he could have made a few different life choices here and there).

In the end, he sighed and rolled off the bed to find a different shirt to wear.

“Fine. But only if you promise not to get me drunk again! I had the worst hangover last time.”

And the time before that…and before that as well. As a rule of thumb, Oikawa generally had bad hangovers whenever he went out to a party with Kuroo. The other would always pretend he wasn’t feeling nearly as bad as the brunette, but Oikawa knew it was a bunch of lies when he saw Kuroo dig around for pain killers in his nightstand.

“Alright, alright. I promise,” Kuroo chuckled. It looked just a little too sneaky to be fully sincere but Oikawa felt that either way he didn’t have much of a choice.

 

“Ok, let’s be real though. You only wanted me to come along because you don’t know what to talk about with that Kenma boy.”

Kuroo sighed and rolled his eyes as if to deny it, but his response came so slow and in bits and pieces that Oikawa had no doubt Kuroo was just trying to find an excuse for bringing him along.

“Come on, I mean…he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to come in the first place. And…he’s more of a listener…I mean, he probably wouldn’t even tell me if I’m annoying. I need someone there to seem more annoying than me-“

“Hey!”

While Kuroo laughed, Oikawa pouted, and shoved at the other’s shoulder with both hands. But at the very least it convinced Oikawa not to ask more about it. For whatever reason it seemed like Kuroo was kind of self-conscious when it came to the topic of his new subject of interest.

“So…who invited you to the party in the first place?”

If he was going to mooch their alcohol off them, then the very least he could do was know whose party it was, Oikawa figured.

“Uh…”

The brunette whipped his head around and came face to face with Kuroo’s face, a grin etched on it that looked somewhat guilty.

“You don’t even know their name.”

“We only went on one date. It was months ago.”

One ‘date’. The brunette didn’t have to ask to know what his best friend meant by that.

“And you still accepted the party invitation! They…”

“She.”

“ _She’s_ gonna want to talk to you! And you’re there only to get poor little Kozume-kun drunk and into your bed!”

Oikawa couldn’t believe it. Sometimes Kuroo’s personality was a bit much to take. If he wanted to date a lot of people, okay. If he wanted to date them only to sleep with them and they were all right with that, then fine. But no girl would invite a guy she’d slept with to her party unless she wanted to get closer to him. Right?

“You’re a terrible human being.”

“I know.”

“You’re gonna get so much karma from this.”

“And I’ll deserve every last bit of it.”

“ _You’re_ the reason aliens don’t talk to us!”

“Oookay, now _hold_ the phone!”

 

One discussion of whether Kuroo was the reason humanity had yet to receive any form of contact from possible alien colonies later, they had made it to the place that the party was going to be. And as always, Oikawa wasn’t even mad anymore. He hadn’t exactly been mad in the first place; it was more of a frustration with Kuroo’s way of life.

“At least tell her thanks for inviting you,” he grumbled as they entered the rather fancy looking place (for a University student no less – Oikawa’s guess was a rich kid whose parents were away for the weekend) and made their way towards the living room.

“I will, I will.”

Kuroo didn’t sound annoyed. In fact, it seemed like he was trying to calm Oikawa. With a grin he reached out and teasingly pat the brunette on the cheek, finishing it off with a gentle pinch that Oikawa swatted at with a pout. With a laugh, Kuroo pulled back and lead the way through a bunch of people on the makeshift dance floor, which normally seemed to be the living room.

Oikawa felt almost guilty for how he’d reprimanded Kuroo. Perhaps the girl that’d invited him didn’t really care that much about who was attending as much as how many people were present. Which, actually, seemed to be most of the people going to the same University as them.

They hadn’t gotten further than three steps towards the next room when Oikawa spotted him.

Iwaizumi. With his shirt buttoned only halfway up, and looking right at him from the other side of the room. He looked so good that Oikawa felt downright breathless for a second. How was he supposed to react?

Then he was smiling. Iwaizumi was smiling at him- wasn’t he?! Unless Oikawa’s vision was suddenly so bad that he couldn’t even tell where someone standing across the room was looking at.

Just as he was raising his hand and waving it with an excited smile of his own, his wrist was caught in a warm hand and he was being pulled along.

“Wha- Kuroooo!”

“Will you hurry up? I was talking to you and then I turn around and you’re not there.”

Kuroo sounded offended and pouty, but Oikawa had no time to pay attention to that. Instead, he used his free hand to get Kuroo to let go of his other wrist.

“You’re the worst! He was looking right at me! He’s _here_!”

Hearing his friend’s infamous whiny tone of voice, Kuroo turned around once they had reached the next room – the kitchen that he had been looking for, stacked with bottles upon bottles, some of them already empty.

“Who?”

“Iwaizumi of course! He was standing right there and then you…ugh.”

Kuroo grinned apologetically, and Oikawa forgave him. It wasn’t like his friend could have known that he was in the middle of a ‘moment’ that could have come straight out of a rom-com.

“Why don’t you go say hello to him?”

The brunette pulled a slight face and watched as Kuroo prepared their drinks, making sure the other was using enough parts soda for his to make it consumable. He picked it up and gave it a testing sniff before he took a small sip. Sweet, with just a slight aftertaste of the alcohol. Much unlike Kuroo’s it seemed, as the other’s was around three quarters alcohol with just a bit of soda added.

“I don’t know…he’s probably here with friends.”

“What if he’s drunk and willing?”

“That’d be taking advantage of him and wrong, Kuroo!”

His dark-haired friend laughed and put an arm around his shoulders as they left the kitchen together. He guided the way to one of the couches where, technically, only one space was still free on the far left. As close friends as they were though, he did the honors and sat down first and let Oikawa sit on top, half on his lap, half on the armrest.

 

Needless to say the first thing Oikawa did was check if Iwaizumi was still around. However, to his grand disappointment the corner of the room Iwaizumi had been standing in before was now occupied by people Oikawa didn’t recognize.

With a soft sigh, he returned his attention to Kuroo who was, surprise surprise, looking down at his phone. It made a pout appear back on the brunette’s face almost instantly.

“Did you bring me just to sit on top of you and look pretty?”

At the very least Kuroo was listening to him, despite the loud music. Oikawa could tell by the way his lips slowly pulled up into an amused smirk. It made him smile too, and he lifted his red cup to his lips for another long sip. If there was free alcohol then he might as well drink it.

“I’m just checking to see if Kenma’s here yet.”

“I’m here.”

Oikawa almost yelped with how startled he was. He snapped his head around to look behind them. Face to face with him stood a short and seemingly ordinary guy – ordinary apart from the somehow bored (or tired?) expression on his face. He had blond hair with dark roots. Was this…?

“Hey! There you are.”

Kuroo had turned around too and was smiling at the blond with an expression that was weirdly gentle if you were to ask Oikawa. A moment later his best friend was looking at him, but Oikawa’s attention was pulled back to the ordinary yet pretty boy in front of them.

“This is my friend and roommate, Oikawa. Oikawa, this is-“

“Aah, Kozume-kun! I’ve heard lots about you.”

The brunette smiled and held out a hand for a handshake. The blond looked down at it for a moment, seemingly contemplating whether he should take it, but reached out to shake hands with the brunette a moment later.

“You can call me Kenma.”

...ah.

Oikawa glanced at Kuroo who looked just as surprised as him, but there was some disappointment in that look on his face as well. The brunette, meanwhile, was a little bit amused.

“Oh, well…okay.”

There was a short awkward pause in which the blond glanced around. Somehow Oikawa finally understood why Kenma wouldn’t want to go to a party – he just looked like he didn’t quite fit in with the crowd that was loud and moved all around.

“It’s pretty loud in here.”

“No problem! We can go elsewhere.”

Before he knew it, Oikawa was being nudged to the side and then slid into the space on the couch that had opened up with Kuroo getting up. His best friend just offered him a wink and held up a hand in goodbye as he lead the way back outside. Where to, the brunette didn’t know.

And suddenly he found himself all alone at a party where he knew nobody. Except for Iwaizumi, whom he didn’t know where he was. And Kuroo and Kenma, who had obviously just left. For a minute Oikawa was even starting to feel like a misfit himself.

He sat quietly and took a sip from his red cup, lifting his gaze only when the person next to him scooted to the side, only for the space to be filled by someone else a moment later.

Oikawa stared.

“What’s wrong? You look like you just got dumped.”

Oikawa was glad he’d already swallowed his sip, or he’d probably have ended up having part of his drink dribble down his chin and onto his shirt. Iwaizumi looked nothing short of breathtaking.

Yes, his hair was even messier than it usually was, but that only added to his charm (if you were to ask Oikawa, at least). Iwaizumi’s shirt was still only buttoned halfway up and the brunette was having a very hard time keeping his eyes on his counterpart’s. And he did look kind of drunk already…but Oikawa wasn’t actually seeing this as a bad thing.

Still, with how fascinated he was with his…friend?...’s appearance, his reply sounded dumbfounded and slightly unintelligent.

“…huh?”

A grin etched onto Iwaizumi’s face, and he lifted a cup of his own to his lips.

“You looked kind of….sad? When your friend walked off. What’s his name? Kuroo?”

More than everything else Oikawa was surprised Iwaizumi had caught his friend’s name with how much he had rambled during what he supposed had been their ‘introduction’. It took him a second to shake his head with a smile.

“No, that’s okay. I mean he wanted to…wait…did you think Kuroo just _dumped_ me and then walked off with another guy?”

His question was answered by a drunken giggle so uncharacteristic for Iwaizumi that it was almost weird. Or it would have been, if Oikawa didn’t find it incredibly cute.

“I don’t know. I mean. Well…it kinda looked like it, I guess.”

Oikawa was fascinated. Not only did Iwaizumi look downright relaxed, he had also come here because he cared. At least that was what he took from it. He must have cared, right? If he saw a guy he barely knew who looked like he’d just been dumped and was now all alone…and he came to keep him company and make sure he was okay-

Yes, Oikawa was getting totally carried away. To the point where he was sure he was going to just grab onto Iwaizumi and never let him go, so he quickly shook his head, and pulled a face for comic relief.

“No no no, no. I mean…Kuroo isn’t even my type.”

As soon as he said it, he froze. He hadn’t meant to let that slip, at least not for now. There was a lot of confusion still in his head about who Iwaizumi was, whether him and his Internet friend were actually the same person. There were so many coincidences and yet, there was the possibility that they weren’t. And that Iwaizumi was actually not at all fond of the whole ‘guys with guys’ thing.

When he heard a soft chuckle, his gaze snapped back up to Iwaizumi; he hadn’t even realized he had been staring down at his cup after his slip-up.

“I see. I’ll believe you.”

It wasn’t the reply Oikawa had expected, nor the one he had been hoping for deep down. It wasn’t even really a confirmation of whether or not Iwaizumi was okay with these kinds of relationships. Nonetheless the brunette smiled, and lifted his cup back to his lips to drink the rest of it – more to loosen himself up rather than for the taste.

It was quiet for a moment, and then…

“Where are your glasses?”

Oikawa choked on his sip. He managed to swallow what was in his mouth but ended up coughing into his hand a moment later, with Iwaizumi laughing and patting his back. With how surprised he was about that sudden question, Oikawa didn’t even hear Iwaizumi’s slightly concerned ‘are you okay?’. Instead, the one thing that was on his mind that moment was what a certain someone had said not too long ago.

_“what’s cute about him?”_

_“his glasses”_

_“…his glasses?”_

_“I don’t know. they highlight his face.”_

It just couldn’t be a coincidence, could it? When Oikawa turned around to look at Iwaizumi, the latter actually looked slightly concerned for him, but that wasn’t important right now (even though still worth noticing how sweet it was).

“Why-“ He coughed one last time, realizing at that moment that Iwaizumi’s hand was still resting on his back. “Why...do you ask?”

The look Iwaizumi gave him was innocent, curious. And yet, maybe because he seemed to be tipsy at the very least, Oikawa didn’t quite believe that innocence. Then he smiled.

“Just wondering. Hey, I could use another drink. What about you?”

Blinking, the brunette gazed down into his empty cup. He wasn’t exactly in for the whole ‘getting drunk as fast as possible’ thing…but if it meant getting to spend the evening with Iwaizumi…?

A wide smile spread over his face.

“Of course!”


	8. Hungover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's two things that always follow a great party: a hangover and a lot of missing information. Oikawa definitely has one of them, but what about the things he remembers from the party? Are they real or just pieces of his overactive imagination?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to another chapter and a 'messy' awakening for our beloved hero!  
> A huge thanks to Eizuya, misterlion, koichii and ochoacruz22 for all the comments, and of course to everyone who’s left kudos or subscribed! (*¯ ³¯*)♡  
> I'm sorry if this chapter isn't anything too exciting, but we're getting there...:D  
> Enjoy!

Oikawa wasn’t sure how much he’d had to drink. Too much, that was what his throbbing head told him when he woke up the next morning. Dammit, and he had promised himself he wasn’t going to let Kuroo get him drunk this time around! With a soft whine, he let his forearm rest over his face. Ah, that was a little bit better. No light, no sound-

“Good morning, sunshine!”

The brunette flinched, and groaned as he moved both hands to his temples to gently massage them in hopes of easing his headache.

“What’s wrong, pretty boy? Bad case of headache?”

“I swear I’m going to kill you if you don’t quiet down.”

Kuroo snickered, but when Oikawa opened his eyes – slowly so as to not give his head even more reason to hurt or his stomach to feel queasier – he was glad to find a big glass of water and two painkillers already laid out for him to take. With a grunt, he pushed himself into a half-sitting position, just enough so he wouldn’t spill his water.

It was then that he realized he hadn’t even made it out of his clothes last night. Well, at the very least he wasn’t wearing shoes.

“How come you’re this chipper anyway?” he asked as he reached for the pills with one hand and the glass of water with the other. He swallowed the pills first, then continued to take small sips of his water, feeling slightly better now that he was washing the dry and disgusting taste out of his mouth.

“Aren’t your hangovers usually worse than mine?”

“Sure. But I only had that one drink last night.”

A bit of the water dribbled out of Oikawa’s mouth when he gaped at his friend in surprise. Kuroo ‘ewww’d at the sight, but laughed nonetheless while the brunette wiped his mouth, scowling.

“So you decided to get ME drunk instead while you stay sober? Some friend you are!”

Kuroo’s laughter died, and he walked over to their beds with two mugs of coffee, setting one of them on his roommate’s nightstand. Oikawa didn’t like the look on his friend’s face at all.

“Oikawa, I literally didn’t see you until I came to drag you home at around 3 AM. If it weren’t for that, you’d probably still be there.”

He paused, and then a grin slowly spread out on his face.

“Wait a minute. You’re not gonna tell me you don’t remember anything, do you?” He laughed. “Oh my God, Oikawa! You got _shitfaced_ , didn’t you?”

“Did not!”

The slight blush on his face did not at all help persuade Kuroo. That, and the fact that he’d thought it had been Kuroo who had gotten him this drunk just a minute ago. His head still hurt and he was not at all appreciate of his roommate’s teasing and laughter.

“Then…if it wasn’t you…who was I with…”

Oikawa didn’t hear Kuroo’s reply. His head was very much still pounding, and not exactly up to thinking, but Oikawa hadn’t been drunk enough at the start of the night to not remember whom he had been with. And his breath caught in his throat.

Iwaizumi. He remembered it clearly now.

Iwaizumi, next to him, checking up on him after he thought Kuroo had dumped him.

Iwaizumi, asking if he wanted to get another drink – together.

Iwaizumi, pouring him a cup of something that Oikawa remembered had tasted bitter and disgusting, but that had loosened up both his mind and his body.

Iwaizumi, suggesting they join everyone on the dance floor.

Iwaizumi’s body moving in front of him, his chest very much exposed with his shirt half unbuttoned and Oikawa’s gaze almost constantly on it. Their bodies moving together to the music…

This was where things started to get fuzzy. No, in fact Oikawa wasn’t even sure that last part had happened or if that had just been wishful thinking. Had he really been dancing with…with Iwaizumi…?

 

“..kawa? Yo, Oikawa, did I hypnotize you or something?”

The fingers snipping in front of him finally make the brunette blink rapidly and stare at Kuroo who looks a mix of confused and worried.

“Everything okay? You looked like you were going to pass out on me.”

“Iwaizumi.”

“What? No, it’s Kuroo. Did the alcohol leave some permanent brain damage or-“

“No, Kuroo! It’s Iwaizumi! _He_ got me drunk, I swear!”

The other teen looked at his roommate silently for a few moments, but then he started to grin.

“Are you serious?”

Oikawa wasn’t sure whether this was just amusement or whether Kuroo didn’t believe his words.

“Kuroo…you’re sure you didn’t see me at the party with someone else?”

At that question, silence fell. Oikawa may have mistaken it for a thoughtful silence if not for the fact that he’d known Kuroo for a long time now. And his friend definitely had that guilty look on his face as he tried not to make direct eye contact with the brunette. Oh no.

“What, Kuroo?”

“…Kenma wasn’t enjoying himself too much. So I suggested we go back to his dorm and play video games until I had to come get you. I texted you before I left.”

“You did not!”

He instinctively reached for his phone on the nightstand and repeatedly pushed the home button – no use. The battery must have died sometime during the night, so Oikawa plugged it into the charger. Even so, his best friend had not only ditched him for another guy, he’d totally ditched the party that he’d dragged Oikawa to in the first place, altogether!

“You left me in the hands of a stranger, Kuroo!”

Now his best friend snorted and downed the rest of his coffee, reminding Oikawa of his own cooling mug that he quickly reached for to take a couple of sips. Maybe the caffeine would help him feel better.

“You’re not being serious.”

Oikawa wasn’t. In fact, he was happier than he’d ever been when ditched at a party. And yet…it didn’t sit quite right with him that he wasn’t sure just what had happened. He scooted back until he was leaning against the wall behind him, the blanket still draped over his legs, coffee mug in both hands. There was a short silence in which Kuroo walked over to their mini fridge and got some milk bread he must have bought just this morning, because Oikawa knew for a fact they were out when he’d checked yesterday evening.

He took it with an appreciate smile and pulled off a small piece of it, nibbling on it to not upset his stomach by eating too fast.

“I think he likes me, Kuroo.”

“Hm?” Kuroo looked up again from where he was preparing a bowl of cereal for himself, despite it probably being around lunchtime already.

“Iwaizumi.”

Setting down both his mug and his milk bread, Oikawa turned around to look at Kuroo, his eyes almost sparkling.

“He likes me! I mean…he came to sit with me just after you left with Kenma, to keep me company. And…”

He gasped as another vital piece of information fell into the place of dead brain cells that were last night’s party.

“Kuroo, I think he’s bubblegum-chan!”

Kuroo almost spilled his bowl that was overflowing with milk, and set it down on his own nightstand before he looked at Oikawa with furrowed brows – a look that was rather unusual for him.

“How do you figure?”

Oikawa hesitated. He’d been so sure of it just a moment ago…but Kuroo was Kuroo and maybe he’d think Oikawa was just getting paranoid with all his pining over his crushes. Still, he had to tell _someone_ about it. And that someone had to be Kuroo.

So he told Kuroo about the conversation he’d had with his chat partner, and how Iwaizumi – drunkenly so, but wasn’t that just all the more proof? – had asked where he had his glasses just last night.

Much as he’d expected, Kuroo smiled and settled on his bed with his bowl of cereal, taking a sip of the milk before he replied.

“Oikawa…”

The brunette didn’t need to see the look on his face or hear the soft sigh to know Kuroo could not see a real relation between the two. Or maybe just not enough of one to be of any real importance.

“No offense, but…half the population of Japan probably wears glasses. Not to mention you _always_ wear yours unless you want to look fancy. I’d ask you too if I didn’t see you without them every morning.”

He smiled, but it wasn’t a pitying one. And it quickly turned into a smirk.

“Besides, even if they’re not the same person…you said you spent the night with Iwaizumi. Wanna fill me in on all the dirty details?”

“Wha- Kuroo, I told you I wouldn’t take advantage of him!”

 

After that, Oikawa’s mood lifted quite a bit. He told Kuroo everything he remembered clearly, including the sultry look he swore Iwaizumi had given him when he sat down next to him, and how he was certain he could still feel Iwaizumi’s hips pressed up against him as they were dancing together to some shitty 80s song.

Kuroo laughed.

“Exactly how much of this is made up?” he asked, his bowl of cereal long empty and now ‘soaking’ in the sink, but Oikawa wasn’t going to say anything about it since Kuroo had been kind enough to bring him milk bread for breakfast.

“None of it! ...I’m pretty sure,” he added after an inquisitive look from his roommate sitting cross-legged on his own bed, hands resting on his belly and a thoughtful look on his face.

“So…you say you guys were drinking and talking all night.”

“Yes.”

“And you were dancing together up and close and shit.”

“I’m pretty sure.”

“Then are those his hickeys on your neck?”

“I- what?”

Oikawa’s face went from focused, to confused, to shocked within two seconds. It was made worse by the smirk Kuroo was throwing his way.

“You should take a look in the mirror after a night out, you know. Not just because you look awful.”

And Oikawa did. He almost tripped over his own feet that got caught in the blanket around his legs, and with Kuroo’s cackling following him still he stormed into the bathroom, turned the light on, and took a good hard look at his reflection.

He looked a mess. His hair looked slightly greasy and resembled a bird’s nest. His eyes behind his glasses – that he had been wearing ever since he’d realized he still had his contacts in – were red exactly because he had been sleeping with his contacts in, and had dark circles under them.

He was still very much wearing his button up shirt, and as he slowly moved the collar to the side-

“Kuroo!? Why are you only mentioning these now?!”

Oikawa would have understood if it were just a single hickey, not very visible, maybe even hidden beneath the collar. But these…these weren’t just hickeys. They were _marks_. Big, and purple, so that Oikawa was wondering how he wasn’t feeling sore there – not until now, at least, as touching the spots did make him feel slightly uncomfortable.

“For the record,” Kuroo chuckled as Oikawa entered the room again, face pink (because for how much he liked to be a show-off, wearing marks this visible wasn’t exactly his thing), “I asked you about them last night when I basically carried you home – you’re welcome, by the way – and you said they were from Iwaizumi-“

“Kuroo! Then why didn’t you tell me right away?!”

“- _buuut,_ you were talking about how aliens had abducted him from you and crying a little bit just seconds later, so I wasn’t sure what to believe.”

The blush worsened.

“…I didn’t cry.”

“You did. You did cry a little, but it was all good when I told you Iwaizumi was going to befriend the aliens and you’d get to meet them.”

Oikawa sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, that did sound like drunk him. He knew for a fact, he’d seen it on tape.

On tape…

Drunk him did like to take selfies and videos. It was a long shot, but Oikawa reached for his now mostly charged phone, unplugged it and then unlocked it with the swipe of his thumb and quick typing out of his password. The first thing he noticed was that, in fact, there was a text message from Kuroo there, still unread.

 

[10:58] _going to Kenma’s for vidgames. txt me if u need me! –KT_

 

Okay, so perhaps he owed him an a- hold on just _one_ second!

“Kuroo.”

The other teen looked up from his own phone even if just for a second to show he was listening.

“You said you came to pick me up at the party at…3 AM?”

“Yeah?”

“After you went to Kenma’s.”

“Yeah.”

Pause.

“You don’t _seriously_ expect me to believe you guys spent _four hours_ playing _video games_?”

Oikawa, now feeling much better with some food in his system and properly hydrated, jumped up and over to Kuroo’s bed, nudging at his best friend who was grinning, but shaking his head still.

“Come on, Kuroo. Tell me about it, all of it. Every dirty detail.”

“Oikawa, nothing happened.”

Pffth! The brunette’s laughter almost overshadowed Kuroo’s next words.

“I’m serious! We didn’t do anything. We played video games and then watched a movie, had some snacks and a couple beers…then I told him I was gonna have to pick you up and make sure you got home, so I left.”

Oikawa wasn’t sure whether he was supposed to be proud or disappointed. For the most part, he felt confused.

“I…I don’t understand.”

Kuroo sighed and ran a hand through his bedhead.

“I mean…we haven’t even been on a date yet. And he kind of strikes me like one of those date-first-sex-later kinda guys.”

That part, Oikawa couldn’t deny. He’d only met Kenma once, last night that was, but he could confirm that to him, too, it seemed as though the blond was not going to get anywhere near Kuroo’s southern regions.

He whined softly and dropped on his back with both arms outstretched.

“How boring. Did you have fun, at least?”

“Of course. He’s cute…and he actually talks quite a bit when he starts being comfortable around you.”

“I guess that’s nice.”

Despite his slight disappointment, Oikawa smiled. For what it was worth, as long as Kuroo was happy, the brunette was too. And if you asked him, this was actually kind of fun. Kuroo was switching his ‘girlfriends’ and ‘boyfriends’ – as he called them; if you were to ask Oikawa, he’d be insulted to have a one-night-stand be on the same level as a boyfriend – so often that it was a nice change of pace to have him be pining for someone who wasn’t falling for his charm and his tricks right away.

For a couple of minutes they both fell silent again, on their phones and checking social media – or probably texting Kenma, guessing by the rapid sound of Kuroo’s thumbs flying over his phone’s keyboard.

With a quiet smile, Oikawa scrolled through his own social media feed. But only when he saw a party picture one of his many friends had posted did he remember what he’d meant to do before he had jumped Kuroo for more details on what had actually turned out to be a somewhat boring night. So he switched back to his phone’s photo app and into the top folder to see all his newest snapshots.

And he gasped loudly.

Instead of the few selfies he’d been expecting or maybe hoping for (as a sort of treasure and proof of a night spent with Iwaizumi), he found his phone filled up with rows and rows of pictures and videos, most of them only a couple of seconds long.

But there had to be a dozen of them.

Kuroo noticed instantly that something was wrong, and after a futile attempt at asking his roommate to tell him just what it was he nudged Oikawa aside to lie down next to him and look at his phone.

“Oh _my_.”

A shit-eating grin spread on his face as he reached up and snatched the phone away before Oikawa could protest.

“Let the fun begin.”


	9. Clarity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo and Oikawa go through the pictures and videos that Oikawa's drunk self took at the party the night before. What are they gonna find? And more importantly, what is Oikawa going to do with these new findings?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody!  
> Apologies for taking so long to update this. I work 9-10 hours these days and then all I really want to do is sleep <_<. I am not abandoning this story by all means though! :)  
> A special thanks to the kind comment-ers: koichii, Hakainomaki, misterlion, and Erokira! You guys keep me motivated.  
> Enjoy chapter 9!

 

 

 

 

_‘Yaaas work it, Iwa-chaaan!’_

Oikawa whined. Kuroo laughed. Loudly. It wasn’t not fair, Oikawa thought, because there were no pictures or videos whatsoever of Kuroo to look and laugh at in return. Then again it was his own fault for letting Iwaizumi get him drunk – at the very least that was what he imagined must have happened, since his camera skills were getting worse the later the time of the recordings.

This particular one was from shortly after midnight, and Oikawa’s hand was already very shaky as he, obviously dancing himself, tried to film Iwaizumi on the dance floor behind him, all whilst showing himself on the front camera as well.

“Kuroooo. Can we turn this off?”

Kuroo held the phone to the side a little when Oikawa, who was lying right next to him, reached up one hand to try and take it from him.

“No way. This is _gold_!”

“You’ve watched it three times in a row, can we move on?”

_‘What are you doing? You’re shaking the camera too much. I can’t see myself.’_

_‘Ahahaha, Iwa-chan are you that narciss..isistic?’_

The video ended abruptly just as Iwaizumi started to laugh, something that Oikawa greatly regretted. Why couldn’t drunk him have waited just a little bit longer, or even just missed the stop button on the first try?

At the very least Kuroo finally listened and swiped to the next recording. It was another picture, much like the first four files before the video they’d just watched over and over again. Much like the four before, this picture showed part of the interior of the house.

Iwaizumi was on the photo as well. Just like before it was mostly his profile, the colors somewhat blurry around the edges. The cup in his hand showed that clearly they had not given up on drinking throughout any time of the night.

 

When he had seen the first picture, Oikawa had squealed – and blushed. At least on the first one he had managed to take a picture of Iwaizumi’s face. It was slightly blurry around the edges, but Oikawa was honestly sort of proud of his drunk self for thinking of using the flash. And he’d even managed to capture the hint of a smile on Iwaizumi’s face, which had made him physically stop Kuroo from swiping through to the next image for a good few minutes.

It was an incredibly nice thought that Iwaizumi, smiling as he was in the picture, had had a fun night, too. With him, Oikawa. Perhaps they’d even built somewhat of a base? Sure, Oikawa hadn’t exactly remembered the night at the start of this new day, but looking at these pictures and videos some of it found its way back to him.

All in all, the next three videos, taken around 1 AM, were all rather unspectacular. There was some dancing, and of course a lot of Iwaizumi goodness in those generally very short videos. There was one picture that showed a guy in the background, currently in the act of throwing up, and they both laughed out loud when they saw it. And on the best selfie with him and Iwaizumi, too.

Oikawa did not doubt that the last remaining picture or video was going to be of a different quality.

With a loud and dramatic sigh, he dropped back into the pillow and stretched one arm over Kuroo’s chest, the other he let hang over the edge of the bed that, honestly, was too small to hold the both of them.

“Do you think he remembers?”

There was a short silence, and then the telltale sound of a video being played. Namely, loud music and even louder voices talking (or yelling, more like it) over it.

“Remember _this_?”

Oikawa turned his head to look at the display of his phone that Kuroo was still holding.

He stared. And stared.

His eyes widened, and he gasped loudly.

 

If Kuroo still thought taking Oikawa out downtown to cheer him up from either a rejection or the shock he had just gotten, then he really didn’t know his best friend as well as the brunette had hoped he did. Which was totally beside the point, because Kuroo was also doing a lousy job at either calming or distracting him.

“I can’t believe you let him _suck_ tequila out of your _belly button_!”

Oikawa gesticulated wildly and punched Kuroo’s shoulder, but all it did was make him laugh. Thankfully it was a crowded Saturday afternoon and literally nobody was interested in listening in on their conversation.

“Will you leave it alone already?”

Oikawa huffed out a breath, and made sure his scarf covered the marked parts of his neck that his crew neck couldn’t reach. In hindsight, perhaps they hadn’t gone out for Oikawa’s sake as much as they simply had to go somewhere to have a decent lunch, as neither of them felt like cooking, and their fridge was nearly empty again.

“I don’t see why you’re being so shy about this. This is great news, isn’t it?”

Oikawa blushed.

Yes, exactly why was he being shy about it? Perhaps because of the very clear shot of him lying on what appeared to be the kitchen table, and Iwaizumi taking not just one, but two shots right off of his belly, all while the brunette was laughing and people around them cheering. Just the memory of it made him whine.

“I don’t even want to know how many people saw! There could have been others filming it and…putting it on Facebook or whatever!”

“So? At least that way, you’d know Iwaizumi’s gonna see it and have a reminder of your crazy night together.”

Oikawa slapped Kuroo’s shoulder again, for his suggestive undertone this time around, but he just laughed as they were headed towards their favorite ramen bar.

Yes, Oikawa thought. Maybe that would be convenient in that sense. After all there was no proof or way of knowing Iwaizumi remembered exactly what had happened. At least not until Oikawa next met him, and possibly asked about it. At which point he’d probably quickly find out whether or not Iwaizumi remembered. Whether it was awkward or not. God he hoped it wasn’t going to be awkward.

 

Exactly how much destiny, the universe and everything beyond hated him, Oikawa wasn’t sure. They were playing with him, all three of them, of that he was certain. Just when he was starting to calm down (or try to, at the very least), he was hit in the face by yet another brick.

He walked in front of Kuroo to enter the shop first when the door opened by itself, nearly hit him in the fact in the process, and the person exiting almost ran right into him.

“Sorry, I wasn’t looking where- oh.”

The rushed tone of voice was quickly dropped when Iwaizumi’s gaze met his. It was clear from his slightly matted hair that he, too, was still working through his hangover.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

Oikawa almost choked on his reply, and his emotions were fighting for dominance. Was he more shocked than he was excited, or was he feeling more awkward than he was happy? Was there even a reason to feel awkward? Certainly Iwaizumi didn’t even remember! Yes, he should just act natural.

So he put on a smile and lifted one hand in greeting.

“I see you made it back safe last night.”

Iwaizumi nodded, but he didn’t return the smile.

“Yeah. Yeah, and so did you, uh…sorry, but I’m actually supposed to start work in like five minutes. So I’ve gotta run. I’ll see you in class, yeah?”

“Oh. Ok-“

That was as far as Oikawa got. On the third word, Iwaizumi had already rushed past them and was leaving in the direction of the café with a slight jog.

Fuck.

“He remembers. Kuroo he totally remembers and he _regrets it_!”

Kuroo chuckled, and pushed at his whiny best friend’s shoulders to get him to move into the already fairly full ramen bar. If you were to ask him, there was no point in whining about it. There was no way to change what had happened in the past and the sooner you accepted it and moved on to work with what you had, the better.

“It’s fine, Oikawa,” he hummed and gave the other’s shoulder a couple of pats before he physically forced the brunette to sit down into one of the booths, taking a seat on the other side.

“And don’t you dare pretend you’re not hungry now. You were pouty about how much you were starving five minutes ago.”

Oikawa blushed. Truth be told, his hunger had diminished just a little bit after running into Iwaizumi. But wasn’t that sort of understandable? Even Kuroo ought to know that running into someone you’d had something with (or almost had something with, in this case) the day after left one feeling awkward and with a need to hide.

“Fine,” he sighed, and gave his usual order once the waiter came to their table. After all, ramen was too good to let his mood ruin it.

 

For some reason Oikawa was feeling a lot better after he ate. Kuroo was doing a much better job now at distracting him by talking about his or Oikawa’s classes, about Kenma, about that other hot guy he’d scoped out at the gym that was totally Oikawa’s type.

The brunette laughed, and talked, and yes. He still felt awkward when he thought about how Iwaizumi had just up and left, but dwelling on it wasn’t going to help him or make him feel any better. In fact, he would be deliberately trying to make himself feel bad, and that was no way of spending a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Besides. It was almost impossible to feel pouty or any sort of bad emotion for that matter when Kuroo was telling him all about his videogame night with Kenma. He was beaming as though – for lack of better comparison – he’d just received the best blowjob of his life, if you were to ask Oikawa. It really was a nice change of pace. Kenma might just be what made Kuroo realize that taking things slow didn’t have to be a bad thing. That getting to know each other and going on a few dates before landing in bed didn’t have to be seen as ‘prude’, but rather romantic.

At least that was what Oikawa was hoping for.

To both his delight and disappointment, he was once again alone when he opened the door to their dorm. In the middle of their conversation, Kuroo had received a text from Kenma asking if he wanted to play some more video games. And Kuroo, well, he had jumped at the opportunity. Not before having Oikawa freak out over it, of course.

It had to mean something, right? Only last night Kuroo had been there with Kenma. If the blonde wanted to see him again already, there had to be at least a little bit of attraction there.

On the other hand, Oikawa wasn’t happy about the constant ditching that left him alone. Don’t get him wrong, he was glad to have some privacy once in a while (especially with the two of them living in one room). But he was hoping this wasn’t going to become a regular thing. Especially not when he could use a bit of convincing that Iwaizumi did not hate himself and regret all his life decisions – the ones from last night, at least.

Trying not to let this get to him, Oikawa took the time to clean up his part of their room a bit (which mainly consisted of him moving piles of clothes into one corner and dirty dishes into the sink) before he curled up on his bed with a cup of tea and his laptop. He opened up Netflix and logged into his account, scrolling through all the series that he had started but never gotten around to finish.

He clicked on the one that caught his interest – which happened to be the The Walking Dead series. Kuroo gave him enough shit for not having finished this by now, so he should probably catch up soon.

 

He watched three episodes, and then got sidetracked to a nature documentary about Japan, which then turned into watching beauty tutorials on Youtube. Only when he got bored of that did he open up the link to his and _bubblegumhair_ ’s chat room, curious to see whether the other was online. It did make him somewhat nervous, and the reason he had been avoiding the chat until now was simple.

Oikawa was about 95% certain that this was Iwaizumi. And after last night, and the happenings this afternoon…the brunette wasn’t sure what Iwaizumi really thought about him.

There was a slightly guilty feeling in his belly when he thought that talking to his chat room partner could only be of benefit to him. Perhaps Iwaizumi could confide in him since they didn’t actually know each other in real life…and the brunette would know just what he had to do to win him over IN real life!

The guilt got worse when he saw _bubblegumhair_ was online and his hand didn’t hesitate even twice to type out a first message.

 

[16:12] _volleyboy97: hello there bubblegumhair!_

[16:14] _bubblegumhair: hey, how are u?_

[16:14] _volleyboy97: good good! and you?_

[16:14] _bubblegumhair: I’m ok._

 

Uh oh. That didn’t sound too good, if you were to ask Oikawa. ‘Ok’ never meant that you were doing all too well, right? He stuck his tongue out between his lips as he tried to push the conversation in the direction he wanted it to go.

 

[16:15] _volleyboy97: what’s wrong? tough day?_

[16:15] _bubblegumhair: not really. a bit hungover._

[16:15] _volleyboy97: ooooh sounds like u had a fun night? ;))_

[16:17] _bubblegumhair: hah, yeah. a bit too much fun I guess._

[16:17] _volleyboy97: ooooh. are there some juicy details orrr…?_

 

Oikawa bit his lower lip. Was he taking this too far? Certainly not. Bubblegumhair knew him as a cheeky and teasing person by now, and they’d been fairly open with each other. Especially over the past couple weeks, once Oikawa realized that this might actually be Iwaizumi, and he’d started to try and get some information on what bubblegumhair thought about the person who’d spilt coffee on him – namely, Oikawa.

He was so distracted that he only noticed Iwaizumi had been writing out a rather long message when he heard the noise of an incoming message and looked back at the screen.

 

[16:22] _bubblegumhair: haha, you’re naughty. I was at a party and ran into the guy who spilt coffee on me. remember him? he was alone so I was gonna sit and talk to him… and I guess our drinking got kind of out of hand? I don’t remember how much we had… but I remember doing some…stuff with him. like, nothing wild or anything. just some dancing and hickeys and stuff._

 

Oikawa was flabbergasted. This single message cleared up two things.

One, bubblegumhair was in fact Iwaizumi. Of that, Oikawa was now a hundred percent certain. There couldn’t be this many coincidences in the world. And two…Iwaizumi remembered the night they spent together in great detail.

Oikawa’s heart was beating faster. There was just one thing left to find out.

 

[16:23] _volleyboy97: sounds steamyyy! and you’re unhappy about that or…?_

[16:23] _bubblegumhair: no. no, just…I ran into him earlier when I came from lunch. and it was just kind of awkward I think, I don’t even know if he remembers, y’know._

[16:24] _volleyboy97: so…what do you wanna do about that now…?_

 

Oikawa held his breath as he watched bubblegumhair – no, Iwaizumi type out his reply.

 

[16:25] _bubblegumhair: I kinda wanna ask him out._

 

And Oikawa screamed.


	10. More coffee, please!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having figured out the person behind his online crush, our favorite hero proceeds on his journey to woo his IRL crush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> I'm very sorry for updating so irregularly...work is keeping me very busy and I often forget how much I like writing this fanfic (until it's time for bed, ugh).  
> I'm not gonna stop writing, of course! It might just take a while sometimes - please bear with me!
> 
> This one is short and sweet - a bit shorter than the past ones. I hope you'll still enjoy it!
> 
> As always a big thank you and cuddles to the lovely commentors fairy1331, koichii, Sorotaku, Hakainomaki, datfreakyfangirl, Erokira, and Carrochan! You guys are grand. <3

Oikawa thought himself to be a very patient guy.

Ok, that wasn’t true. He was often very impatient and whiny, and tended to get annoying if he didn’t get something he really wanted. But this was different. He had been supportive and quiet and had played it by the book, but when Kuroo sighed for the third time within five minutes, Oikawa had about had it.

He put down his fork, then put both palms on the table and leaned closer towards Kuroo in a way - he hoped - showed that he meant business.

“Alright. Tell me.”

“It’s noth-“

“Don’t go and ‘it’s nothing’ me again!” Oikawa stopped him before Kuroo could even finish, and made it a show of using his friend’s very annoying dismissive tone for the answer he had been given all morning.

“I know something’s up. You haven’t eaten breakfast, and you’re barely even touching your curry. It’s your favorite too, so something has to be up.”

Kuroo looked down at said curry, clearly realizing he had given himself away by the way his shoulders slumped. For a minute there it seemed to Oikawa his best friend was contemplating whether he even wanted to tell him. Which, by the way, was highly offending. Oikawa prided himself with being Kuroo’s best friend, and they usually told each other everything.

“Just tell me,” he encouraged once more, and this time it seemed to work. Kuroo shifted around somewhat uncomfortably and gave a short glance around before he looked up at Oikawa, putting his spoon down and pushing his plate towards Oikawa. The brunette took his friend's plate and started to spoon the leftovers into a Tupperware he always brought just in case (hey, he wasn’t cheap – this was just perfectly good curry and would be a shame to throw out instead of having it for dinner).

“It’s about Kenma.”

That much wasn’t a surprise to Oikawa. Kuroo hadn’t even said a word about the cute blonde since he came back last night. In fact, it seemed like both of them were very keen on just staying to themselves without a lot of talking. As for Oikawa, it had been the epiphany that Iwaizumi most likely, probably, maybe wanted to go out with him (which was a story worth telling, but definitely not the one how he’d found out about that in the first place). For Kuroo, apparently, it had been what had happened with Kenma.

“What happened?” Oikawa asked, leaning in slightly closer with his arms now crossed on the table.

Kuroo seemed to feel unusually uncomfortable, and scooted around on his chair before he continued speaking.

“Not a lot really. I mean, I went to his place…and we played some games, had some food…talked about Uni, that kind of junk.”

He cleared his throat, and Oikawa knew that everything up until that point must have been going pretty well.

“And then…?”

“And then I kind of brought up, you know…the subject of going out. Nothing major, just…that we should go out to eat together sometime.”

There was a short pause. Oikawa didn’t interrupt; he was too eager to hear how that had ended up (which was made clear by the way his eyebrows started to wander up towards his hairline).

“Then he says ‘I know what you’re like with your dating life’.”

Oikawa stared.

Then, he tilted his head to the side.

“What?” he asked, fully aware of how stupid he probably sounded. That was the big revelation? No ‘I have a girlfriend and I’m straight’ story that would lead Kuroo on an adventure to make Kenma fall for him, or something equally romantic?

“Oikawa. He means that I only ever go on the one date and leave it at that after taking it to the bedroom.

“Oh.”

That. Yes, Kuroo must have made a name for himself, and Oikawa had known that sooner or later word would travel from one or the other salty date who had expected more than what they got. Maybe he was a bad friend, but he honestly hadn’t expected Kuroo to get away with it forever.

“And?”

“And? He obviously isn’t into that. I mean, I asked and it’s not even just that…I mean…”

Kuroo was mumbling now, and Oikawa stared at him with just one raised eyebrow to show Kuroo he did not want to wait another five story arcs for Kuroo to tell him exactly what was the problem with all of this.

“He’s ace.”

Oikawa was confused.

“What?” he asked for the second time within that past minute.

“He’s ace. You know…ace.”

Oikawa blinked. His eyebrows furrowed.

“Come on Oikawa, you’ve read more about all this stuff than anyone I’ve ever met! He’s asex-“

“I know what ace means, Kuroo.”

“Oh.”

Now Kuroo looked confused. Then why the hell did Oikawa not react at all? Why did he still stare right at Kuroo as though he had a weirdly long hair sticking out of his nostril or something of the sort?

And then the bastard _smirked_!

“Are you finding this funny?!”

“Well..I mean, sort of-

“Dude!”

“Not in a mean way!” Oikawa said, hands raised to try and calm Kuroo down. He wouldn’t laugh at his friend’s misfortune if it weren’t exactly what he’d secretly been hoping for. “Just…this is too perfect!”

Kuroo didn’t seem amused in the slightest. His eyes narrowed and he turned his head to the side a little bit , his gaze resting on Oikawa.

“ _How_?!”

“Well,” Oikawa started as he licked clean the spoon he’d used to put all the curry into the Tupperware that he was now putting the lid on, making sure it was secure. “I’ve always wanted for you to find someone you could be with for more than one night.”

Kuroo furrowed his brows and looked at Oikawa as though he were crazy.

“What’s _that_ got to do with anything?”

“If you can’t nail him, you can’t drop him after taking him to bed. _Loophole_.”

A light seemed to go on in Kuroo’s head. It was his turn to have his eyebrows rise all the way up to his hairline, and Oikawa laughed, a loud and cheerful laugh.

“Come on Oikawa, it’s not funny!”

 

Oh, but it was. Kuroo did look a bit pissed and Oikawa got his shin kicked underneath the table, but in the end they were both smiling and talking about how Kuroo could still have Kenma go on a date with him. He did like the other teen, after all. And yes…the fact that Kenma was asexual was quite a hurdle for Kuroo to get over, but he was – apparently – willing to try.

God, Oikawa wanted to melt. It was like something out of a dramatic romance novel. Right now Kuroo’s character was going through that dark and gloomy phase which came before the build up to the climax – not at all to be taken literally in this very case. Hah.

Speaking of romance, and build up to a climax…It was time for class, but as he was leaving the cafeteria with Kuroo who was headed into a different direction now, Oikawa spied Iwaizumi out of the corner of his eyes.

And he was looking right at him.

Oikawa could play it cool. Pretend he didn’t notice him. Or maybe just look surprised and wave with a smile, yes, that would look cool and casual.

 

“Iwa-chaaaan! Hello!”

Oikawa hated himself for this. He was putting Iwaizumi on the spot, and he could tell by the way the other’s eyes shot wide open and a light pink taint covered his cheeks. The people at his table (his friends, presumably) laughed, and Oikawa could hear an imitated ‘Iwa-chaaan’. Which, by the way, _rude_. He did not sound like that at all!

What made the smile on his face grow even wider was the fact that Iwaizumi did not ignore him, no. He was getting up and taking his bag, and – after flipping his friends off (which only caused them to holler more) – came his way! Shoot, now Oikawa wished he’d checked his hair before calling out to him. It didn’t make his smile waver, however, as his hand came up instinctively to push a strand of hair behind his ear.

Iwaizumi, to his surprise, smiled a little bit as well when they stood next to each other.

“Hi.”

“Hello!”

There was a short silence, and Iwaizumi cleared his throat. God, it was kind of awkward still. But at least Iwaizumi wasn’t running away again. Maybe he had gotten over what had happened at the party.

“So, you’re off to class?” Iwaizumi asked as the two of them started to walk down the hallway, away from the cafeteria and the noise, silence starting to surround them just a couple of steps into the next corridor.

“Oh, yeah. Yeah I’ve still got a couple classes before I’m off at four.”

“Oh. Yeah, me too actually.”

“Oh.”

Oikawa glanced to the side. A smile was growing on his face again. So Iwaizumi had classes until four as well…interesting. It was almost too perfect.

“That’s cool, you know. We should get a coffee to celebrate the end of the day afterwards,” Oikawa blurted out just as he noticed Iwaizumi slowing down in front of one of the open classroom doors. Oikawa’s words stopped him from going in, however, and instead made him turn around to look at the brunette.

Uh oh. Now Oikawa was nervous. Was that too forward? He hadn’t even meant it in a date sort of way; he’d just wanted to spend more time with Iwaizumi!

“I don’t know, I’ve kind of got some reading to catch up o-“

“That’s cool,” Oikawa interrupted, and laughed as he started to walk away backwards. Gosh…now he was embarrassed. And he almost fell over his own feet while walking backwards, so he turned around but looked over his shoulder to wave at Iwaizumi in an awkward goodbye. “Yeah, me too, actually. I just remembered. So…yeah, have fun!”

Great. There he went, embarrassing himself again. Why did he even think Iwaizumi wouldn’t be weirded out by such an offer? After what happened at the party, too. He probably wanted to keep his distance for a while until he felt comfortable in his presence again. And Oikawa had been lucky to just walk him to his class without Iwaizumi taking off running in the other direction. But no. He had to be greedy and ruin it all over again.

 

“Wait.”

He was almost around the corner when he heard Iwaizumi’s voice again, much closer than he’d expected, and whirled around, wide-eyed, to see him staring right at him. Just two steps away from him. Had Iwaizumi run after him without Oikawa even realizing it?

His wide-eyed and open-mouthed face that showed how shocked he was must have looked amusing, because Iwaizumi chuckled softly as soon as he was looking right at the brunette.

“I was…actually thinking, it never felt quite right for you to treat me to a coffee. You didn’t spill it on me on purpose.”

Oikawa blinked in confusion.

That. What kind of weird train of thought was that? And they told _him_ his thoughts were jumbled and all over the place! What did one thing have to do with another? Then again, telling Iwaizumi he was being random might not help his case right now…

“That’s okay, I wanted to-“

“Let me buy you a coffee too.”

Oh.

_Oh_.

Oh _yes_! This was happening, wasn’t it? After all Oikawa already knew Iwaizumi was thinking of asking him out – but he hadn’t believed it until now. In fact, he still didn’t quite believe it even though saying “let me buy you a coffee” was about as ‘asking-out’ as it got in Oikawa’s book at least.

“Oh.”

Shit. What the hell kind of reply was that?! Iwaizumi’s smile was starting to look a little crooked too, and one of his eyebrows was slightly raised. He had to say something. Charming, flirty…something that would make Iwaizumi look forward to the date for the whole afternoon.

“…yes, I accept.”

Iwaizumi laughed. And even though he was blushing, Oikawa smiled too. If it made Iwaizumi laugh, he was happy to say something stupid once in a while. And it did bring the added bonus effect of making Oikawa relax. Hell, why had he suddenly tensed up and gotten nervous in the first place?

“So…then I’ll meet you back at the cafeteria sometime after four, yes?” he asked, and finally calmed his nerves enough to put on his charming smile, combined with the slight head tilt he had practiced in front of the mirror for many hours, to achieve the perfect head-to-shoulder ratio.

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes at the obviously flirtatious manner (ok, maybe Oikawa was exaggerating to make up for his nerves). But Oikawa could clearly tell that it had to be working at least a little bit.

“Sure. I’ll see you later,” he nodded.

And, oh crap.

He turned around, and as he walked away, he smirked at Oikawa over his shoulder before he faced straight ahead again.

Oikawa was so far gone.

 


End file.
